The III International Conference on Competition Policy Enforcement and Consumer Rights Protection will be held from November 20 to 22. The event is being jointly organized by the Competition and Consumer Agency, the National Bank of Georgia, the National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission of Georgia, the Communications Commission and the State Insurance Supervision Service of Georgia.
The conference will feature opening remarks from the following speakers: Mikheil Sarjveladze Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia; David Songulashvili, Chairman of the Sectoral Economy and Economic Policy Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, Maka Botchorishvili Chair of the EU Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, Genadi Arveladze Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, Steering Group Chair of the International Competition Network.
Participating in the opening session - Irakli Lekvinadze, Chairman of the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency; Davit Narmania, Chairman of the National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission of Georgia, David Onoprishvili Head of the Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia, Ekaterine Galdava, Member of the Board of the National Bank of Georgia, Vice-Governor and Vakhtang Abashidze Commissioner, Communications Commission. The goal of the annual conference is to strengthen competition policy in Georgia by utilizing both international and local practices. The event will serve as a platform to discuss achievements, address challenges, and explore strategies to enhance mechanisms for protecting consumer rights.
Georgia will host up to 15 delegations from various countries as part of the conference. Keynote speakers will include Teresa Moreira, Head of Competition & Consumer Policies at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Cristina Caffarra, Deputy Director of the CEPR Competition Research Network; and Isabelle Perignon, Director of Consumers at the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission, among others. Alongside representatives from local and international organizations such as ICN, UNCTAD, OECD, EU DG COMP, and EU DG JUSTICE, the conference will focus on activities related to competition and consumer rights protection. It will explore the challenges, achievements, and best practices in this area at both international and local levels.
As part of the conference, 6 working sessions and 2 panel discussions will be held with the participation of local and international experts. These sessions will address topics such as: Mechanisms for controlling mergers; Competition enforcement policy in regulated and digital markets; Effective approaches, standards, and trends in consumer protection; Combating cartels in vulnerable markets: evaluating outcomes and best practices; Management of effective anti-dumping policies in the Eastern Partnership region and etc. The event will also bring together representatives from public agencies, regulatory bodies, academia, and the business sector.
To further enhance cooperation, a memorandum signing ceremony will be held between counterpart agencies in the fields of competition and consumer protection.
To further strengthen cooperation, a memorandum signing ceremony will be held between counterpart agencies in the fields of competition and consumer protection.