BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) Board of Directors has approved a loan of 45 million euros to Georgia to mitigate the negative economic and social impacts of COVID-19 and sustain the momentum of pre-pandemic reforms that support economic growth and resilience, Trend reports citing the bank.
Funded under AIIB’s COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility (CRF) and cofinanced by the World Bank, the loan will fill the unanticipated financing gap that has arisen due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, which could jeopardize Georgia’s ongoing reforms under the Economic Management and Competitiveness Program (EMCP).
“The loan provides emergency budgetary support to enable the Government of Georgia to respond to the pandemic more effectively. By providing financing to support mitigation measures and safeguard macroeconomic stability, AIIB’s response will help minimize losses and put the country back on the recovery path” said AIIB Vice President for Investment Operations Konstantin Limitovskiy.
This is a second loan for Georgia under the CRF, following an earlier emergency assistance of 91.34 million euros approved in May 2020, under which Georgia’s health infrastructure and social protection measures for COVID-19 preparedness were financed.
As of July 2020, AIIB’s Board of Directors has approved a total of 16 projects amounting to over $5.9 billion to help 12 members navigate the challenges of these highly uncertain times, said the report.
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