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#40 - JRL 2009-96 - JRL Home
U.S. Gives $53.3 Million More in Donor's Aid For Georgia

TBILISI. May 21 (Interfax) - The U.S. government has allocated $53.3 million for Georgia as part of its $1 billion financial aid package.

The money will be spent for specific purposes, with particular focus on the continuation of democratic reforms, U.S. Ambassador John Tefft said at a briefing on Thursday.

In particular, $10 million will be spent to support the country's economy, including its energy projects, $20 million on measures to improve the election laws and mass media activities. The rest will be used to fund the reforms in education and border protection, as well as for providing social and humanitarian aid to the Georgian population.

The U.S. administration sees no alternative to a constructive dialog between the Georgian authorities and all political forces on how to solve the country's crisis, to create democratic institutions and to ensure stability, the U.S. diplomat said.

It was reported earlier that at a conference in Brussels in October 2008 the donor countries agreed to allocate $4.5 billion to Georgia over the next three years. The U.S. pledged $1 billion, of which Georgia has already received around $400 million. These funds were spent mainly to support the budget, to fund humanitarian aid projects and to restore roads and municipal infrastructure.