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Funding for New Georgian Investment Council
A special donor fund to support economic growth in the EBRD’s seven poorest
countries of operation is sponsoring the launch of an Investment Council in
Georgia.
The council will include representatives of government and the private sector
and will help improve the business environment to promote private sector
development and investment. EBRD President Jean Lemierre has accepted an
invitation from the government of Georgia to join the council, expected to
become a key instrument for policy dialogue between national authorities and
the business community.
The Multi-Donor Fund for the seven Early Transition Countries (ETCs) this week
committed €300,000 to assist in developing the Investment Council which is
expected to be self-financing within 18 months. This support through the ETC
Multi-Donor Fund attests to the importance which the international community
attaches to this initiative.
Nine donors have officially joined the €17.7 million ETC Fund – Finland,
Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taipei China and the
United Kingdom. Canada and Norway will soon join the fund.
The untied ETC fund was created in November 2004 to promote economic
development in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Funds have been committed for projects in each of
those countries; as of 1 March 2005 the fund had allocated €7.8 million for 20
technical cooperation projects.
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