Georgia receives $4.55bn of fresh aid pledges
Georgia to receive £2.77bn of aid in bid to rebuild following conflict
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Wednesday, 22, Oct 2008 06:26
Georgia is to receive around $4.55 billion (£2.77 billion) of aid in its bid to rebuild following its conflict with Russia.
Some 70 organisations and countries met in Brussels to pledge funds to the former Soviet state, which was severely damaged after Moscow removed Georgian troops from the pro-Russian breakaway states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
And according to European Union (EU) external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero, the sum agreed upon by western donors was far in excess of what had been expected.
"I must tell you that it is much more than we have thought, and therefore I think it's really a day of joy," he told a press conference on Wednesday.
He called on the EU's 27 member states to match the $700 million (£429 million) donated by the European Commission.
"This is most important, not only because we want to support physically and directly the Georgians, but also because it is a political symbol of solidarity with the Georgian people," he explained.
Georgia and Russia fought a ten-day war in August that led to both sides accusing the other of genocide, international condemnation of Moscow's disproportionate response and Russian recognition of Georgian breakaways South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.
And according to a UN and World Bank-coordinated assessment, Georgia needs $3.25 billion (£2 billion) over three years to cover its development of infrastructure, as well as budget and social sector support.
With the US pledging $1 billion (£600 million) prior to the conference, Georgian prime minister Lado Gurgenidzes said his nation was "deeply moved and humbled by the demonstration of solidarity" from donors.
"At a time like this, to show such support is something that no Georgian will ever forget.
"Our commitment to the taxpayers of all of the countries... is that every single euro, every single dollar, pound, whatever other currency, will make Georgia stronger, more prosperous, freer, more democratic and more genuinely and thoroughly European," he stressed.
Russia, which still has more than 7,000 troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, was not invited to the conference, but Dmitri Babich, an analyst from Russian Profile magazine, told Al Jazeera that Moscow had pledged more than $20 million (£12.3 million) to the region.