Georgia to receive €150 mln from EU amid COVID-19 pandemic
The Commission initially adopted the proposal for a COVID-19 support package in late April, which was endorsed by EU ambassadors earlier this month. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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The Council of the European Union has adopted a decision to provide €150 million in macro-financial assistance package to help Georgia ‘cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic’.
Georgia is among the ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners of the EU which will receive the financial assistance 'in the form of loans on highly favourable terms'.
Together with the support from the International Monetary Fund, the funds will help enhance macroeconomic stability and create space to allow resources to be allocated towards protecting citizens and to mitigating the negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic", the EU Commission stated today.
In total the EU Commission adopted a €3 billion assistance package to help the countries ‘cover their immediate financing needs’ which have increased as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Commission initially adopted the proposal for a COVID-19 support package in late April, which was endorsed by EU ambassadors earlier this month.
Farmers in 22 municipalities of Georgia will have the opportunity to obtain co-financing under a 3.2 million GEL (about $1m/€0.92m) grant programme offered by the European Union (EU), the Agriculture Ministry of Georgia and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for the purchase and installation of modern drip irrigation systems.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing an additional $3 million in assistance to the Georgian healthcare system in response to COVID-19.The US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, said that the CDC has been supporting Georgia to prepare for and response to the pandemic since January.
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $200 million for Georgia to help address the effects of the coronavirus. This, IMF said, will help Georgia “meet urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs” stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including “increased spending on health services and social protection”.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will allocate €200 million for development of healthcare infrastructure in Georgia, as well as supporting its fiscal and other needs amid the coronavirus pandemic. Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and Vice-President of the EIB Lilyana Pavlova, held a discussion during a video conference earlier today.
Two people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Georgia increasing the total number of cases to 730 in the country. Meanwhile, 13 infected individuals have recovered bringing the total recoveries to 522.
Georgia has reported just one new case of the coronavirus earlier today, bringing the total number of cases to 731. 526 of the patients have recovered, while 12 others have died. As of May 25, 193 people remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia. Six of the 193 people are in critical condition.Director of Tbilisi Hospital of Infections Diseases Marina Ezugbaia said that doctors have used blood plasma treatment to cure a 80-year-old patient who was in critical condition.