The United States will provide to Georgia 250 million US dollars within the framework of an economic aid package, the total volume of which will reach one billion dollars. The US State Department reported in Washington on Wednesday that the corresponding agreement was signed in Brussels by head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Henrietta H. Fore and Georgian Finance Minister Nika Gilauri.

The State Department’s document says that the total sum would be provided within two years. It is planned to allot the funds to refugees, for the restoration of infrastructure, resumption of economic growth and restoring confidence of investors. It also concerns the continuation of democratic reforms and energy security.

The State Department said that since 1992 the United States have provided some 1.9 billion dollars to Georgia for the maintenance of the country’s democratic, economic and social development.

Fore said in a statement published by the US Department of State, “We are here today to help Georgia recover from the August invasion by Russia. We share a commitment to Georgia’s territorial integrity, to its economic and democratic development, and to its integration with neighbouring countries and international institutions. That so many diverse countries and organizations chose to attend today shows that Georgia has many friends who want it to succeed.”

“The August conflict caused tremendous human suffering and dealt a severe blow to the Georgian economy. But more than two months since the initial crisis, it is clear that Georgia’s young democracy will endure. Its economy will recover. Its sovereignty will be reinforced,” she noted.