President Trump signs a bill, Georgia to receive 132 million USD in financial aid

In what may be one of his last acts as a President of the United States, President Trump signed a Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, according to which Georgia will receive a total of 132,025,000 USD in financial assistance. The bill, which has already been approved by the US Congress reads that Georgia is a strategic ally of the United States, and the latter will continue to support the country’s efforts to establish a strong democracy, good governance, and the rule of law.

According to the findings of the 2019 Congressional Research Service Report, Georgia has already received 4,348, 400, 000 USD in a form of financial aid from the United States between 1992 – 2020. The report also details that during the 1990s (1992 – 2000), Georgia received an average of 92 million USD annually, which amounted to a total of 860 million USD, and financial aid issued to Georgia between 2001 – 2007 was valued at 945 million USD. Moreover, in 2005 Georgia received an additional grant of 295 million USD from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which was to be used for the development of the agricultural sector, as well as the road and pipeline and municipal infrastructure reconstruction.

When the August 2008 war hit, the United States increased its assistance to Georgia and provided an immediate relief package of 38 million USD in humanitarian aid, that was delivered by the US naval and coast guard ships, as well as the aircraft. Between 2008 – 2009, Georgia has received a total of 1,04 billion USD, including the direct budgetary support and the additional 100 million USD of the MCC funds. Since 2008, Georgia continues to be a major recipient of US financial assistance in the region of Eurasia. Between 2010 – 2019, the country has already received a total of 640, 6 million USD from the United States, and has also been awarded a second MCC grant of 140 million USD to strengthen the country’s science and technology sector.

With the new bill for the financial assistance signed, the secretary of state will be required to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations. The report should be submitted no later than 90 days after the act comes into motion and should contain a detailed assessment of the actions undertaken by the Georgian government since January 2020 for the purpose of strengthening the country’s democracy, creating a favourable environment for foreign direct investment, as well as ensuring the rule of law. The report should also include a breakdown of how the recent October 2020 Parliamentary elections were carried out, and how well did the country manage to decrease the levels of corruption over the last year.