Japan assists Georgia

On 20 October the signing ceremony of two projects to be undertaken within the framework of the Grassroots and Human Security Grant Assistance Programme, namely the Project for the Improvement of the Caritas Rehabilitation Centre in Tbilisi (worth 59,726 USD) and the Project for the Improvement of the Waste Management System in Marneuli City in Marneuli District (worth 85,222 USD) was held at the Embassy of Japan in Georgia. It was attended by H.E. Mr. Masayoshi Kamohara, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Georgia, and representatives of the Ministries and municipalities which will be involved in the projects.

The Grant Contract for the above-mentioned projects will be concluded between the Embassy of Japan and two NGOs, Caritas Georgia and the Civic Development Institute. In the Project for the Improvement of the Caritas Rehabilitation Centre in Tbilisi rehabilitation aids for people with disabilities and special machinery for taking care of the bedridden elderly will be provided, while the Project for the Improvement of the Waste Management System in Marneuli City in Marneuli District aims to establish a new waste management system by providing the municipality with a waste truck and waste bins as well as constructing a waste treatment facility.

The Grassroots and Human Security Grant Assistance Programme contributes to relatively small projects undetaken by municipalities, medical institutions, academic institutes and NGOs focusing directly on the improvement of the living standards of Georgian people suffering from hardship. Such projects might be implemented in the fields of public health, medicine, elementary and secondary education, social and environmental protection, poverty reduction and increasing incomes. This programme began in 1998. Including the two new projects, 87 different schemes worth 5,866,755 USD have been funded in Georgia.

Japan’s overseas development aid support of Georgia is worth approximately 151.76 million USD in total, and covers a wide range of areas such as the improvement of economic infrastructure and the agricultural and social sectors and cultural and human resource development.