USAID Georgia Mission Director: Working to Support Economic Recovery in Georgia

Exclusive Interview

Since March, the US Government has dedicated new USAID funding to support infection prevention and control, case-finding and event-based surveillance, technical assistance for response and preparedness, strengthened risk communication, and more.

Additionally, existing USAID programs have responded rapidly to the challenge of COVID, working with private sector companies to help deliver medical supplies, partnering with local civil society organizations to support at-risk communities, working with government counterparts to support the continuation of public services, and helping Georgia prepare for the economic recovery from COVID-19.

GEORGIA TODAY sat down for a virtual interview with USAID Georgia Mission Director, Peter A. Wiebler to find out more.

How has USAID responded to the COVID-19 pandemic? How is USAID working with the Georgian government, private sector, and civil society during the pandemic?

Before I tell you the specific details about how we’re responding to the current crisis, I would like to tell you why we’ve been able to respond the way we have. That is primarily due to the partnerships and relationships that USAID has built with Georgia’s government, civil society and private sector, over nearly 30 years of work here, and thanks to the generosity and assistance of the American people. The best way I have to look at how we’re responding now is as a continuation of America’s support to Georgia since the country became independent again in 1991.

As for the specificities of what we’re doing now, we’ve been able to provide the new emergency assistance to help Georgia cope with the COVID-19 crisis. That emergency assistance has been delivered through the International Federation of the Red Cross as well as the Georgian Red Cross, together with other international organizations here. We are providing humanitarian assistance to help vulnerable citizens all around the country, hoping to ensure that those in need are being provided with the basic humanitarian support, including hygienic products and food.

We’ve also helped a couple of hundred thousand persons with psychosocial support and basic information about how to cope with the current health crisis.

Some of our other emergency assistance will help procure much needed equipment and test kits for the National Center for Disease Control. We’ve been helping with the supply of lab equipment which will help process test; these are key measures for coping with the pandemic and helping on the recovery.

We’re also trying to help the Georgian medical system incorporate more distance medicine types of techniques, which essentially means sharing information through video conferencing. It is essential to expand those facilities inside the country because the pandemic has created so many movement restrictions. There is a lot that can be done through virtual communication, and USAID is trying to help with some procurements that will create more and more opportunities for the advancement of distance medicine in Georgia.

Many Georgians are concerned that the pandemic and associated shutdown will have lasting economic effects. As a donor that supports Georgia's economic growth, what is USAID doing to assist the economic recovery?

In March, USAID received a request from the Prime Minister’s office, asking to provide some technical assistance pertaining to devising the economic recovery plan. Within a couple of weeks following the request, we were able to field a team of experts to embed and work with the Prime Minister’s office, providing them with information and best advice to lead the economic recovery.

We’ve likewise responded to the requests from the Ministry of Agriculture; in March, we provided $800,000 worth of American-made lures to help combat the brown marmorated stink bug, which has long been a real economic threat. We were able to procure and deliver a substantial package of support to the National Food Agency, so that the government’s and the private sector’s successful fight against the stink bug could continue. Last year’s harvest was pretty impressive, I would say, and we’ve been trying to sustain the momentum. Even though the pandemic has obviously affected huge parts of Georgia’s economy, farming still goes on.

Tourism has obviously been affected dramatically by the crisis. I think huge enthusiasm is already detectable in Georgia to open up the country for tourists. We have a strong partnership with Georgia’s National Tourism Agency, and we’ve been working with them actively through our economic security program, to develop concrete and targeted strategies for attracting tourists back to Georgia. We want to help the country get back to welcoming tourists in a safe and responsible way, because the trends here have been so positive, and also because Georgia is so welcoming and has such a great tourism potential.

These are just a few examples of how USAID is trying to drive and support the economic recovery in Georgia.

What about USAID's support for Georgia’s democracy, governance, and rule of law? Is this continuing during the pandemic?

In addition to coping with the pandemic and the real impacts of COVID-19, I am impressed with how Georgia managed to keep some processes going which have nothing to do with the current health crisis. For instance, we’ve been working along with our European Union counterparts to support Georgia’s electoral reform efforts. USAID has been providing technical assistance to Speaker Talakvadze and the electoral reform working group. That group’s work has continued during the pandemic and they’ve been doing some amazing things. Obviously, we haven’t seen the final product yet, primarily in terms of the constitutional changes that are needed as a result of a March 8 agreement. But I’ve been really impressed with the way the group has demonstrated resilience and creativity amid the pandemic. We’ve been happy to support that process, as friends of Georgia who want to see the reforms continue and are optimistic that they can.

We are also working with the Central Election Commission in a number of ways, which is another long-standing partnership of ours. Before the pandemic hit, we had made plans to strengthen the cyber security of the CEC in advance of the 2020 parliamentary elections. Around the world, it is becoming more and more evident that elections can be interfered with, and cyber security is key. We’ve provided our partners at CEC with a sizable amount of equipment designed to harden the electoral commission’s data and cyber systems, so that the integrity of the electoral systems can be as high as possible. The important thing is that work has not stopped, and CEC is dedicated to running the elections with as much integrity and fairness as possible. We are committed to supporting this cause.

Many of the initiatives that have come out in response to the crisis have been really Georgia-led. They’re not American ideas transplanted into Georgia; they’re coming from all over the country. Our goal is to give Georgian people the needed resources and tools to accomplish their ideas.

Where do you see Georgia 6 months from now?

Thus far, Georgia’s government and people have handled the situation very well. We’ve been impressed with the steps that the government and the public health system have taken. We’ve been impressed not only by their handling of the crisis but also by their effective communication with people. That’s a testimony first and foremost to Georgian capacity, but it is also somehow reflective of the tremendous investments that Georgia’s friends from abroad have dedicated to support the country.

Six months from now, let’s hope that the COVID-19 situation is controlled, that measures have been put in place for vigilance and monitoring to avoid possible second waves of the illness. I hope also that we’re going to see elections that are handled responsibly and that are truly democratic.

Many people talk about the possible opportunities out of the crisis. There is a real opportunity for solidarity and unity as the country tries to cope with the challenge that none of us have encountered before. I’ve seen many examples from our work were people come together to provide support. I hope that Georgia will be able to do that also when it comes to the elections.

Transcribed by Elene Dzebisashvili

By Katie Ruth Davies