Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said at the cabinet session on May 7 that the United States has included Georgia in its “assistance program known as the Millennium Challenge Account [MCA].”
“It is of a huge importance for Georgia. During my visit to the United State [in late April] Georgian delegation was pushing the issue vigorously,” Zhvania said.
He also said that 16 countries in total would receive the U.S. assistance in frames of MCA.
The countries chosen were Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.
They were chosen from a list of 63 eligible nations released in February.
According to the U.S. Department of States the funds in the MCA will be distributed to developing countries that demonstrate a strong commitment toward: “rooting out corruption, upholding human rights, and adherence to the rule of law are essential conditions for successful development.”
MCA grants are awarded to governments, non-governmental organizations, and private organizations, which they will put to work promoting good governance, furthering economic reform and anti-corruption efforts, developing enterprise and the private sector, building capacity for trade and investment, raising agricultural productivity and promoting health and education.