World Bank, French development agency finance Georgia’s new human capital programme
The programme has been launched with the financial support of the bank and the French development agency, with the former investing $400 million and AFD contributing with its co-financing of €100 million. Photo: World Bank
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A human capital programme designed to unlock Georgia’s growth potential through investments in health, education and social protection has been launched in the country, the World Bank announced on Tuesday.
This is the largest World Bank investment ever extended to Georgia during the three decades of partnership, and the bank’s first cross-sectorial operation comprehensively targeting three critical areas of human development", the bank said.
The programme has been launched with the financial support of the bank and the French development agency, with the former investing $400 million and AFD contributing with its co-financing of €100 million.
“Along with the government of Georgia, we are investing in the people of Georgia and in their future. And we believe that our joint efforts in strengthening Georgia’s human capital will be a significant boost to the country’s social and economic prosperity”, said Sebastian Molineus, World Bank regional director for the South Caucasus.
Raphaël Jozan and Sebastian Molineus signing the agreement on financing Georgia's new human capital programme. Photo: World Bank
“This programme is an opportunity for continuation of the long-standing cooperation between AFD and the government of Georgia for social policies and health since 2016, and an opportunity for more ambition and more impact for the people of Georgia, especially women”, said Raphaël Jozan, director of AFD office for the South Caucasus.
According to the World Bank, the programme aims to help improve the quality of life for citizens of the country by “enhancing efficiency, inclusion, and connectivity of human development services”.
The initiative aims to achieve this by “ensuring fair and equal access to high quality education”, better targeted social benefits, and “strong preventive healthcare” with lower costs of treatment and medicine.
Georgian finance minister Lasha Khutsishvili said that the government "deems human capital development among its most significant priorities and acknowledges the need of investments towards this end".
"We believe that our joint effort will lead to empowered human capital in the county that will facilitate further advancement and major productivity growth in Georgia”, said Khutsishvili.
Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister, and Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, signed a €358,500 million agreement for the Human Capital Programme for Georgia on Wednesday.
World Bank will allocate $400 million for the Human Capital Programme for Georgia, calling it “the largest cross-sectorial investment” for the country over 30 years of partnership.
Significance of human capital development in Georgia was raised by the country’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Wednesday at an online forum organised by the World Bank.
The overall human capital index score of Georgia is 0.57, which means that a child born in Georgia is expected to grow up to be only 57 percent as productive as they could be if they enjoyed a complete education and full health, says the latest update of the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI), which measures pre-pandemic human capital outcomes around the world.
Current and planned projects supported by the World Bank in Georgia were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting between the Georgian finance minister Lasha Khutsishvili and officials of the institution.
Sameh Wahba, the regional director for sustainable development at the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia region, on Wednesday praised the bank’s completed and ongoing projects in Georgia and expressed readiness to further support new programmes.
Georgia will receive €100 million from the French Development Agency to co-finance its human capital development programme as part of the agreement signed on Tuesday between the AFD, the ministry of finance of Georgia and the French embassy.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved two new projects for Georgia to contribute to a “greener and more resilient” development of Georgia, the Bank announced on Friday.
Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Tuesday discussed cooperation with Cécile Couprie, the Regional Director for Eurasia for the French Development Agency, and outlined plans for the third annual bilateral consultation meeting between the Georgian Government and the institution.