MPs Want Defense to Receive 1% of GDP

(Tbilisi, Civil Georgia, December 6, 2002) – Georgian Parliament adopted a resolution today urging the government to allocate 1% of county’s GDP annually for the Georgian Ministry of Defense (MoD) till 2005.

If the government agrees with the Parliament’s recommendation MoD will not have a fixed budget for the period of 2003-2005.

The Parliament’s resolution is caused with the lack of financing of the Georgian armed forces. The budgetary shortfall of the MoD in 2002 exceeded 11 million Lari (approximately USD 5 million).

According to the calculations 1% of the Georgia’s GDP in 2003 will be up to USD 36 million, while the draft budget of the 2003 considers allocation of only USD 26 million in the MoD.

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