TBILISI, Georgia, May 3. Georgia is changing its approach to procurement practices, deputy chairman of the Public Procurement Agency of Georgia, Kakha Demetrashvili said, Trend reports.
He made the remark during the panel discussion on "Sustainable Procurement - Contributing to ADB's Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Goals" at ADB's annual meeting.
"We embarked on this journey six years ago. We termed it the philosophy of the concept. And essentially, it's the same philosophical concept. It's a new philosophy. I suppose most of you are professionals in the field of government procurement or purchasing, or at least finance professionals. And so, we're changing the philosophy. We're changing the approach. We're changing the concepts in government policy, I would even say, not only in procurement practice," he said.
"Our clients for purchasing goods are required to apply sustainable public procurement criteria. And this is a unique story. Now we're taking the next steps: we're expanding the list of these goods, and then moving on to services, to broaden the list of clients and lower the financial threshold. So, it's a unique Georgian strategy," added Demetrashvili.
The theme of the 57th annual meeting, scheduled for May 2 to 5, is "Bridge to the Future".
The first session of the Board of Governors will take place on May 4. The opening will mark the official start of the annual meeting. This event is attended by distinguished guests from the host country. Statements will be made by ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and the Minister of Finance of Georgia, Chairman of the ADB Board of Governors, Lasha Khutsishvili.
The annual meeting provides ADB governors with the opportunity to discuss development issues and challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region. Several thousand participants regularly attend the meeting, including finance ministers, central bank governors, high-ranking government officials, representatives of the private sector, international organizations, civil society organizations, youth, academia, and the media.