On 20 August, the Georgian city of Kutaisi welcomed a colleague from the Dutch city of Delft, who visited the country on a five-day staff exchange mission.
The mission was supported in the framework of the EU’s “Mayors for Economic Growth” (M4EG) initiative and aimed to help Kutaisi design an investment portfolio – one of the essential components of its Local Economic Development Plan.
The visitor from the Netherlands met members of the Kutaisi Municipality and City Assembly, as well as representatives of the private sector, industrial zones and higher education institutions.
Their discussions focused on Kutaisi’s opportunities for urban and economic development. The Dutch expert shared his experience of policy strategies and economic growth.
Launched within the framework of the M4EG initiative, the Staff Exchange Programme sends experienced municipal staff from EU countries on week-long missions to selected signatories in order to share their experience and provide assistance.
To date, 50 signatories from the six Eastern partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) have applied for such support. In Georgia, the municipalities of Baghdati and Kutaisi were among the beneficiaries selected for the first nine missions to take place in 2019.
