Dear Chad,

Sounds good.

Awaiting for my Visa, which was granted and should arrive in by the end of tomorrow (fingers crossed).

Dear Supatra,

Haven’t received the ticket and without it I can’t leave my “post” and appoint an executive officer, so please if you’ve already purchased the ticket send it to me.

Thanks and regards

Nutsi

Dear Nino,

Many thanks for your follow-up and for sharing these details. It is much appreciated.

While you rightfully point out that the financing mechanism in Georgia is quite simple, the level of investment in tax financed schemes in Georgia is the highest in the region, at 6.1% of GDP. Other participants may be interested in how Georgia reached these levels – the narrative behind it. Why does Georgia invest this amount? Has investment always been at this level?  What, if any, justification is used for this at the national level? Of course it is often a political or policy choice and this will come out in the session before we discuss financing. So it is not necessarily about the mechanism that would be most interesting, but more about how the allocation to tax financed schemes is maintained at a high level.

Any highlights on this would be quite insightful for other participants in the room, many of whom are from governments that invest around 0.1-1% of GDP in tax financed systems. It’s all about sharing experiences and different narratives and in an interactive and open environment.

We very much look forward to hearing a bit on Georgia’s experience. Whatever you might be able to share and highlight is fine.

Wishing you safe travels in the meantime!

Kindest Regards,

Chad

Dear Chad,

Our financing system of social protection is quite simple, taxes go the central budget and all major social protection programmes are funded through central budget line items.

If it’s still interesting let me know and I’ll be more than happy to …

Regards

Nutsi

Dear Nino,

I hope you are doing well.

I wanted to follow-up with you on the areas in which we had proposed a role for you.

As noted we are aiming for a very participatory and interactive approach in this dialogue. As such, much of the participation will come from the floor and in open discussion format.

Specifically, on day two we will have a discussion on financing where Armando Barrientos from University of Manchester will kick things off by giving a presentation on options for financing. We thought it might then be interesting to also hear country perspectives. As Georgia is a high investor in social protection, within the region, we thought it would be interesting to hear from you on how Georgia finances social protection.

There will be no panel for this discussion, and so if you agree you would share Georgia’s experience from the floor, in an open discussion format. We are asking for this intervention as we feel other participants in the room, including ourselves, will have a lot to learn from Georgia.

Let us know if this would be suitable for you.

Of course there will be other discussion on universality and targeting in which we would also encourage you to intervene and share. There will also be a change to share with everyone on conditionality and unconditionality, and so we would also encourage you to prepare to speak for three to four minutes on the pros and cons of designing programmes with these elements.

It is our aim that these open discussions will create an environment in which much can be shared and learned between participants in the room.

Please do contact us if you have any questions for clarification, or would like to discuss further.

Kindest Regards,

Chad

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.

Yes Supatra  may move forward (though we still don’t have visa approval yet from the Thai Embassy in Ankara. Passport is still in the Embassy. We should know some details tomorrow)

Regards

Nutsi

Dear Nino,

Excellent, do let us know what you think and what you are most comfortable with after reviewing the options.

And this is to confirm I am receiving your e-mails.

I understand that Supatra is keen to confirm your flight as soon as possible. The latest itinerary sent had a stopover in Doha of 1.25hrs I believe, thus, not 8hrs as was the concern.

Can Supatra move forward in confirming the ticket?

Kindest Regards,

Chad

Dear Mr. Anderson,

Thank you for the opportunity. I will think through all three option and get back to you as soon as I can.

On the other note please let me know if my e-mails are getting to you, as it seems Ms. Kaewchana hasn’t been receiving my colleagues (Ms. Marianna Mkurnali) e-mails, who’s been supporting me in planning this trip.  

Thank you very much.

Regards,

Nutsi

Nino Odisharia

სოციალური დაცვის დეპარტამენტი

საქართველოს შრომის, ჯანმრთელობისა და სოციალური დაცვის სამინისტრო

აკ. წერეთლის გამზირი 144,  თბილისი, საქართველო,  0159

Dear Ms. Odisharia,

I hope you are well. We are looking forward to meet you in Bangkok next week.

Given Georgia’s robust social protection system, which enjoys substantial financial investment and includes both targeted and universal programmes, we wanted to approach you to get an indication of your interest to participate in our programme in specific areas that would highlight Georgia’s success.

First, on day one we are considering having a discussion on the pros and cons of targeting and universality in the design of social protection schemes. Given that Georgia has well-functioning schemes of both types, we wanted to check if you might be interested in discussing targeting/universality. This agenda item would take place in a panel discussion but would not require a presentation.

Second, on day two we will have a discussion on financing where Armando Barrientos from University of Manchester will kick things off by giving a presentation on options for financing. We thought it might then be interesting to also hear country perspectives. Again, as Georgia is a high investor in social protection, within the region, we thought it would be interesting to hear from you on how Georgia finances social protection. This agenda item would also take place in an open discussion format.

Third, on day one, Stephen Kidd will introduce the different approaches to designing social protection systems. Again, given Georgia’s robust system, we thought it would be interested to hear from you on the design choices that have guided Georgia in creating the robust social protection system you have today.

We arenot asking you to be involved in all three sessions, rather, we wanted to get an idea of where you would most prefer to take part. If all three are suitable for you, that is excellent. If you prefer one or two, please do let us know which of the above so that we may provide you with more detailed guidance, including time allocated and draft questions that you may answer.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you want any further details in order to inform us of your preferences.

Kindest Regards,

Chad

Mr. Chad Anderson
Senior Social Protection Consultant
Social Development Division, Sustainable Socioeconomic Transformation Section
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Office: +66 22 88 1234 ext. 1572 | chad.anderson@un.org
www.unescap.org