French Development Agency to co-finance Georgia’s human capital development programme with €100mln
The agreement was signed by Georgian finance minister Lasha Khutsishvili, Cyrille Bellier, department head for Balkans, Middle East, and Asia at AFD, and Richard Requena, Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of France to Georgia. Photo: ministry of finance
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Georgia will receive €100 million from the French Development Agency to co-finance its human capital development programme as part of the agreement signed on Tuesday between the AFD, the ministry of finance of Georgia and the French embassy.
The ministry said the programme was already financed with €358,500,000 from the World Bank, with today's agreement providing additional funding.
Improving the efficiency and inclusivity of the human capital supply system in Georgia is the goal of the programme, which aims to achieve the following results:
- Improved linkages between digital systems in all directions for the supply of human capital in the sectors of education, healthcare, and social security
- Increased effectiveness of expenditures made for the development of human capital in the sectors
- Increased inclusiveness of human capital for the improved quality of expenditures made in the three fields
Photo: ministry of finance
The state body said Georgian finance minister Lasha Khutsishvili had met Cyrille Bellier, department head for Balkans, Middle East and Asia at AFD, to discuss cooperation between Georgia and the agency before the signing of the agreement.
The performance of projects supported by the AFD in Georgia and prospects of future cooperation were also reviewed in the meeting.
World Bank will allocate $400 million for the Human Capital Programme for Georgia, calling it “the largest cross-sectorial investment” for the country over 30 years of partnership.
A human capital programme designed to unlock Georgia’s growth potential through investments in health, education and social protection has been launched in the country, the World Bank announced on Tuesday.
Significance of human capital development in Georgia was raised by the country’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Wednesday at an online forum organised by the World Bank.
The overall human capital index score of Georgia is 0.57, which means that a child born in Georgia is expected to grow up to be only 57 percent as productive as they could be if they enjoyed a complete education and full health, says the latest update of the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI), which measures pre-pandemic human capital outcomes around the world.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna will visit Georgia on Friday to meet the country’s officials, the French foreign office said.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's European Union Integration Committee, on Friday said France was an “important partner” with a “particular importance” in shaping positions of the European Union, ahead of the visit of the French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to Georgia.
Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Tuesday discussed cooperation with Cécile Couprie, the Regional Director for Eurasia for the French Development Agency, and outlined plans for the third annual bilateral consultation meeting between the Georgian Government and the institution.