Donors Pledge USD 4.55 bln

State and private donors together have pledged USD 4.55 billion over the next three years to help Georgia in post-war recovery, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU’s external relations commissioner, said.

The sum includes about USD 3.7 billion from governments and USD 850 million from private donors.

“It is much more than we had sought and therefore I think it is a day of joy,” Reuters reported, quoting Ferrero-Waldner as saying after the October 22 donors’ conference in Brussels.

“The sum far exceeds the expectations that we all had, especially since the onset of the financial crisis,” Lado Gurgenidze, the Georgian PM, told journalists in Brussels.

“The message economically and politically is very strong for Georgia. At a time of financial turmoil, this is extraordinarily strong,” USAID administrator Henrietta Fore told Reuters.

In early September, the United States pledged USD 1 billion for Georgia – the largest national donor.

Japan has pledged USD 200 million at the Brussels conference, which is the second largest pledge from an individual state.

The European Commission said it would provide EUR 500 million over the next three years.

The Foreign Ministry of Norway said in a statement that it would donate NOK 235 million (about USD 33.6 million). And France has pledged EUR 7 million, according to AFP.

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