US Millennium Challenge Corporation deems relations with Georgia excellent

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent US government foreign aid agency, has deemed its cooperation with the Georgian government ‘excellent’ and welcomed the successful implementation of the second compact.

The second compact of MCC to the amount of 140 million USD includes general, vocational and higher education projects aimed at developing human capital in the fields of engineering, technology and the natural sciences.

The cooperation also includes the renovation of 91 public school buildings in Georgia to improve the learning experience of 37,000 school children.

Acting Chief Executive Officer of the MCC Brock Bierman and Georgina Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze mentioned the strong partnership of the MCC with the Georgian state leadership during a meeting in Washington D.C. yesterday.

MCC and Georgia discussed prospects of further cooperation. Photo: Prime Minister's press office. 

We discussed the successful closure of the compact next year and future prospects of cooperation”, Bierman said.

Bakhtadze thanked the MCC for the “consistent support” of Georgia and stated that it is a huge investment with the power to transform.

Along with the full renovation of public school buildings, the compact includes a continuing education programme for school teachers.

New vocational education programmes have also been launched in the country and the US San Diego State University now has a presence in the country to deliver US-accredited undergraduate programmes to bachelor's degree students in Georgia and facilitate the development of human capital in priority areas of the economy.

San Diego State University currently enrolls 550 students in total, out of which the first alumni will graduate in 2019.

• Georgia began implementing its first $395 million US MCC compact in 2007 and this finished in 2011. The first compact was mainly focused on infrastructural development.
• Georgia was given a second compact worth $140 million in 2013 for education. From these funds, $76 million was being spent on general education, $16 million on vocational education and $30 million on higher education over five years.