Brussels, 19/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 18 November, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signed a financing agreement for €30 million to launch a new regional development programme.
This Support to Regional Development - Phase II programme is apart of the Eastern Partnership. It is expected to support the Georgian government's efforts to stimulate growth and socio-economic development in all regions of Georgia. The programme will help the Georgian authorities manage the public funds used at regional level in a very large number of sectors - particularly infrastructure, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, rural development and vocational training. It will also support the strengthening of human resources and statistics in the areas of regional development. In the medium-term, it will promote better links between regional strategies and investment - be it public or private.
In Garibashvili's view, the programme is “an important contribution from the EU to support Georgia's European integration”.
The programme is built on the results obtained through an initial phase of the regional development programme implemented between 2011 and 2013, for a sum of €19 million. The programme was adopted by the European Commission in 2013. (CG)