Donors’ Conference on S.Ossetia Rehabilitation Opens in Brussels
A conference with the participation of donor countries was opened in Brussels on June 14 to discuss the funding of the economic and infrastructure rehabilitation projects in the South Ossetian conflict zone and adjacent areas.
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli, as well as representatives of the parties from the Joint Control Commission (involving the Georgian, South Ossetian, Russian and Russia’s North Ossetian sides) participate in the conference.
The rehabilitation projects were identified by an OSCE-led Needs Assessment Study, launched last November. Potential donor countries will be asked to pledge money for a package of economic and infrastructure projects in the sectors of agriculture, social infrastructure, energy, business development, roads, and finance.
Thomas C. Adams, Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, said in his address to the conference that the United States will allocate USD 2 million for the first year of activity with additional funds available in the following years, the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi reported.
Ambassador Adams noted that U.S. assistance will support just and democratic governance, encourage leaders to invest in the needs of the people, and expand opportunities for economic growth.
“U.S. policy is unequivocal. We support Georgia’s territorial integrity and the efforts of the sides to establish a lasting peace and security for the inhabitants of the region within a democratic, unified, and prosperous Georgia and on the basis of Georgia’s internationally recognized borders,” Ambassador Adams said.
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