TBILISI. Nov 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The United States is ready to allocate up to USD50m for functioning of transport and communication corridors of the GUUAM group, which includes Georgia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova.
Among other issues, the funds will be spend on protection of the corridors, Georgy Gogiashvili, Georgia's national secretary in the Intergovernmental Commission of the Transport Corridor Europe Causasus Asia (TRACECA), told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday. Gogiashvili cited officials of the U.S. Department of State who attended a meeting of transport ministries chiefs of the GUUAM group in Baku.
The meeting discussed in detail prevention of use of transport and communication corridors in terrorist, extremist and criminal interests. "Also on the agenda were measures against illegal migration, which can also have a terrorist aspect," Gogiashvili stressed.
International humanitarian organizations proposed at the meeting to attach the status of humanitarian corridor to the TRACECA, the secretary went on. The status is necessary to create a special regime of humanitarian cargo transportation from Ukraine and Georgia to Afghanistan through Central Asia. The corridor will be used for transporting food, medicines and essentials for the Afghan population affected by the U.S. air strikes and combat operations of the Taliban movement and Northern Alliance.
The TRACECA status will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission that is to be held in Tbilisi on December 11 to 12, Gogiashvili said.