The News in Brief
Friday, October 21
If there is only one child in the family, 46% of Georgian citizens would prefer to have a son, 9% a girl, according to UNFPA
“The harmful practice of gender-based sex selection in Georgia is still a widespread problem,” says the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report for 2016 on the state of the global population. The document reviews situations in different countries, including Georgia.
According to the report, if a family has only one child, most of them prefer the child to be a boy rather than a girl. In particular, 46% of the citizens would prefer a boy, 45% say the sex does not matter, while only 9% would prefer to have a girl.
According to the report, in some parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl on the verge of adolescence sees limitless possibilities ahead and begins making choices that will influence her education and, later, her work and her life.
“But in other parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl’s horizons are limited. As she reaches puberty, a formidable combination of relatives, figures in her community, social and cultural norms, institutions and discriminatory laws block her path forward. By age 10, she may be forced to marry. She may be pulled out of school to begin a lifetime of childbearing and servitude to her husband.
“At 10, she may become property, a commodity that can be bought and sold,” says the report.
According to the report, the new United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its accompanying 17 Sustainable Development Goals aim for equitable, inclusive development that leaves no one behind. This 15-year plan promises to help transform the futures of millions of 10-year-old girls who have traditionally been left behind. (IPN)
Georgia's parliamentary elections were free and fair - William Lahue
“The international community assessed Georgia's parliamentary elections as free and fair. This is a big achievement for the country in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration,” William Lahue, the head of the NATO Liaison Office, said.
"The international community assessed the elections as free and fair. Elections have been accompanied by some problems, but it is not unusual during elections. Even in democratic countries, including the US, similar problems arise from time to time.
“The government took steps to ensure a transparent election and full and transparent investigation of incidents of violence. This is a great achievement for Georgia and for its Euro-Atlantic integration,” said William Lahue. (IPN)
New bypass around Georgia’s Kakheti region announced
Travelling from Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi further east to Kakheti, the country’s wine region, will soon become easier thanks to a new bypass road taking motorists on a scenic journey along a modern, high quality road.
Today, the Government of Georgia discussed a draft contract on designing and constructing the 15.5km Gurjaani-Bakurtsikhe bypass road in Kakheti.
This project will be within Georgia’s new spatial arrangement plan and the Government’s four-point reform agenda.
The 38 million GEL (about $16 million/ˆ15 million*) bypass road will connect the Tbilisi-Bakurtsikhe-Lagodekhi Road to the Akhmeta-Telavi-Bakurtsikhe Highway.
“Linking these two roads together will facilitate safer and quicker transportation and will reduce traffic congestion. … I hope the ambitious plan that we vigorously launched several months ago will continue and we will finalise construction of all previously announced highways within the next four years,” said Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili today.
The contract to design and plan the Gurjaani-Bakurtsikhe bypass road was expected to be signed by the end of this month.
The Prime Minister’s press office said the bypass road must be built within 30 months of the deal being signed. (agenda.ge)
Georgia Sets Preferential Tariff on Kazakh Cargo Transit
Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have reached an agreement on preferential tariffs for Kazakh cargo transit in the TransCaspian corridor.
The agreement was reached at the meeting of TransCaspian International Transport Route Coordination Committee in Astana. A part of Kazakh export cargo, including cereals, oil products and nonferrous metals will enjoy preferential tariffs in the corridor participant countries.
The meeting participants also established the TransCaspian International Transport Route Association that will focus on attracting transit and foreign trade cargo and developing integrated logistic products in this corridor, as well as developing efficient tariff policy.
The association will remove obstacles and determine prices for integrated services, developing a united technology of transportation process, reducing administrative barriers related to frontier and customs procedures and cargo treatment. All these measures are to increase competitive capacity of the corridor compared to the alternative route. (cbw.ge)
“The harmful practice of gender-based sex selection in Georgia is still a widespread problem,” says the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report for 2016 on the state of the global population. The document reviews situations in different countries, including Georgia.
According to the report, if a family has only one child, most of them prefer the child to be a boy rather than a girl. In particular, 46% of the citizens would prefer a boy, 45% say the sex does not matter, while only 9% would prefer to have a girl.
According to the report, in some parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl on the verge of adolescence sees limitless possibilities ahead and begins making choices that will influence her education and, later, her work and her life.
“But in other parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl’s horizons are limited. As she reaches puberty, a formidable combination of relatives, figures in her community, social and cultural norms, institutions and discriminatory laws block her path forward. By age 10, she may be forced to marry. She may be pulled out of school to begin a lifetime of childbearing and servitude to her husband.
“At 10, she may become property, a commodity that can be bought and sold,” says the report.
According to the report, the new United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its accompanying 17 Sustainable Development Goals aim for equitable, inclusive development that leaves no one behind. This 15-year plan promises to help transform the futures of millions of 10-year-old girls who have traditionally been left behind. (IPN)
Georgia's parliamentary elections were free and fair - William Lahue
“The international community assessed Georgia's parliamentary elections as free and fair. This is a big achievement for the country in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration,” William Lahue, the head of the NATO Liaison Office, said.
"The international community assessed the elections as free and fair. Elections have been accompanied by some problems, but it is not unusual during elections. Even in democratic countries, including the US, similar problems arise from time to time.
“The government took steps to ensure a transparent election and full and transparent investigation of incidents of violence. This is a great achievement for Georgia and for its Euro-Atlantic integration,” said William Lahue. (IPN)
New bypass around Georgia’s Kakheti region announced
Travelling from Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi further east to Kakheti, the country’s wine region, will soon become easier thanks to a new bypass road taking motorists on a scenic journey along a modern, high quality road.
Today, the Government of Georgia discussed a draft contract on designing and constructing the 15.5km Gurjaani-Bakurtsikhe bypass road in Kakheti.
This project will be within Georgia’s new spatial arrangement plan and the Government’s four-point reform agenda.
The 38 million GEL (about $16 million/ˆ15 million*) bypass road will connect the Tbilisi-Bakurtsikhe-Lagodekhi Road to the Akhmeta-Telavi-Bakurtsikhe Highway.
“Linking these two roads together will facilitate safer and quicker transportation and will reduce traffic congestion. … I hope the ambitious plan that we vigorously launched several months ago will continue and we will finalise construction of all previously announced highways within the next four years,” said Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili today.
The contract to design and plan the Gurjaani-Bakurtsikhe bypass road was expected to be signed by the end of this month.
The Prime Minister’s press office said the bypass road must be built within 30 months of the deal being signed. (agenda.ge)
Georgia Sets Preferential Tariff on Kazakh Cargo Transit
Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have reached an agreement on preferential tariffs for Kazakh cargo transit in the TransCaspian corridor.
The agreement was reached at the meeting of TransCaspian International Transport Route Coordination Committee in Astana. A part of Kazakh export cargo, including cereals, oil products and nonferrous metals will enjoy preferential tariffs in the corridor participant countries.
The meeting participants also established the TransCaspian International Transport Route Association that will focus on attracting transit and foreign trade cargo and developing integrated logistic products in this corridor, as well as developing efficient tariff policy.
The association will remove obstacles and determine prices for integrated services, developing a united technology of transportation process, reducing administrative barriers related to frontier and customs procedures and cargo treatment. All these measures are to increase competitive capacity of the corridor compared to the alternative route. (cbw.ge)