Georgia is building a state where its citizens’ identities will be based “not only on their blood and ethnic background, but on the idea to build united strong state,” Chief of the President’s Administration Giorgi Arveladze said on November 16, which is celebrated as International Day for Tolerance.

Arveladze was speaking at a launching ceremony of the National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia (NITG) – the USAID funded 4-year program, run by UN Association of Georgia (UNAG), and implemented in partnership with the Georgia government in an attempt to increase the sense of tolerance and national unity among Georgian citizens. The event was attended by the U.S. Ambassador in Georgia John Tefft.

Arveladze said that the Georgian authorities spare no efforts to put an end “to infrastructure collapse” in some of the regions, which is hindering process of civil integration. Arveladze was referring to Samtskhe-Javakheti region populated with large group of ethnic Armenians.

“The U.S. assistance is of special importance in this regard, I mean in frames of Millennium Challenge Account [USD 295 million aid program] large part of which will be spent on infrastructure rehabilitation projects,” Arveladze said.