At Parliament, the Regional Development Minister, Kakhaber Guledani, was heard under the interpellation procedure. Members of the “For Georgia” faction addressed the Ministry with 25 questions.

The questions concerned the Ministry’s institutional development, the implementation of state programs in the regions, social and infrastructural issues in high-mountain settlements, the development of mountain resorts and alpine tourism, as well as measures undertaken to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters. The Minister began his address by assessing the interpellation process and speaking about the significance of establishing the Ministry as a separate agency.

“For the Regional Development Ministry, interpellation is not merely a formal reporting process but an opportunity for dialogue with the country’s highest legislative body. The Ministry was established as an independent agency ten months ago. Its objective is to formulate and develop a unified regional development policy”, - said Kakhaber Guledani.

As he added, the creation of the Ministry marked a new stage in shaping and implementing regional development policy. As he noted, regional issues had previously been dispersed among various agencies, and the establishment of a separate ministry enabled unified coordination of these matters.

Guledani also addressed the progress in achieving decentralization goals and the development of a unified regional development strategy: “The Ministry is actively working on the final evaluation document of the 2020–2025 Strategy, which will more clearly present achievements, existing shortcomings, and challenges in each area. We have made significant progress in decentralization. In particular, as a result of VAT distribution, municipal budgets have at least doubled; more than 8,500 units of property have been transferred to municipalities; and the powers of local self-government have been expanded in the areas of passenger transport regulation, natural resource management, social and child rights protection, education, and tourism. For the harmonization of sectoral legislation, 171 legislative amendments have been implemented. In 2026, we will begin work on a new policy document for the development of local self-government. The objective of the new decentralization strategy will be to continue strengthening the local self-government system and to ensure policy continuity”.