Geostat is working on a new project with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

Date: 7 December 2021

Today, the grant agreement was signed between the National Statistics Office of Georgia and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

 

The document was signed by Mr. Gogita Todradze, Executive Director of Geostat, and Mr. Erik Illes, Head of Development Cooperation / Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Sweden.

 

The purpose of the grant agreement is to modernize Geostat's IT infrastructure and capacity building, to produce high-quality, user-oriented official statistics, and to further strengthen ongoing processes.

 

"In our times, it is impossible to make progress without a powerful information technology system, which is gaining special importance today, since Geostat has completely switched to alternative methods of data collection and a significant part of the staff still works online. In this regard, the support of the Swedish Development Agency is of great value. SIDA is our important partner and has played a significant role for years in terms of institutional strengthening of Geostat”, stated Mr. Gogita Todradze, Executive Director of Geostat.

 

Under the project, it is planned to upgrade Geostat server infrastructure and purchase computer equipment. In particular, with the help of SIDA, Geostat server infrastructure will be upgraded and 200 computers will be purchased for Geostat staff.

 

 “I am really happy to be here at Geostat today, as the part of the long, long ongoing collaboration between Sweden and Georgia in terms of statistical development and statistical quality. And in this case, we have decided to support the national strategy on statistical development, when it comes to equipment and infrastructure. And we see that it has been very important for the development of statistical system in Georgia, especially when you are preparing for the upcoming population and agricultural censuses in 2024. But for Sweden this is also a key, because there’s so much disinformation out there and any country needs a credible, objective statistical system. And what we have seen over the last 10 years is that Geostat has become that trusted and credible institution. And from Sweden, in terms of the democratic development that we are supporting in Georgia, we see this has been a really important component. So, very happy to be here to sign this agreement today”, claimed Mr. Erik Illes, Head of Development Cooperation / Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Sweden.

 

Over the years, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) has been actively cooperating with the National Statistics Office of Georgia to improve infrastructure and capacity building, as well as to promote statistical production, increase access to data, and strengthen the credibility of official statistics.