Unprecedented and very important - this is how the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili commented a new grant component of the initiative "A Step to a Better Future" - „Produce for a Better Future" – which she presented together with the Head of the “Produce in Georgia” agency. 

At the presentation, the State Minister talked about the initiative "A Step to a Better Future" within the framework of which new program „Produce for a Better Future" will be launched.

"As you know, our Parliament has unanimously supported this very important initiative. Now the Government is working in order to implement legal, infrastructural and financial components of this plan. Today we create the most important financial instrument to encourage trade across artificial barricades and give the privilege to people who is being in a very difficult situation with the continuing Russian occupation.

"We are creating a program called „Produce for a Better Future", which will allow the residents of both sides of the dividing line to present common business projects with a grant of up to GEL 35 000. This project includes all citizens residing in the occupied territories, regardless of their ethnic origin.

"I think that today we are making an unprecedented step during the last 25 years and this step may be a new opportunity for thousands of people. The main thing is not to interfere it artificially. The new initiative envisages the status-neutral mechanisms - to register with the personal number of those who cannot have a Georgian passport today "- said Ketevan Tsikhelashvili.

The selection procedures of business plans will be implemented in LEPL "Produce in Georgia" service center at Rukhi.