Georgian Parliament Speaker: no donor provides funding purely out of charity

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Monday that no donor provides funding purely out of charity, arguing that financial assistance invariably serves the interests of the country providing it.

Speaking on the Debates programme on Rustavi 2, Papuashvili said donors and recipient countries should ensure that their respective interests and objectives were aligned.

“Of course, no donor provides funding out of charity. If you think someone is doing it as an act of charity, you are being very naive. It is about advancing the interests of the country providing the funding”, Papuashvili said.

He noted that the interests of countries such as Germany and France could coincide with those of Georgia, referring to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which emphasises alignment between donors’ objectives and those of partner countries.

“The Paris Declaration speaks precisely about this, stating that donors’ and partners’ objectives should be aligned. Donors must align their projects and goals with those of the partner country. That is the whole purpose of assistance and cooperation”, he said.

Papuashvili added that his own work had focused on ensuring that the interests of donor countries were consistent with those of Georgia.

“That is exactly what I was working on: ensuring that the interests of the country represented by the funding were aligned with the interests of the recipient country, so that the assistance could be implemented accordingly”, he concluded.