PM: US-funded educational programs raise future Georgian leaders

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has praised the "invaluable influence” the United States (US) funded academic programs have had "on our lives and the development of democratic Georgia”.

At the US Alumni Leadership Forum the Head of Georgian Government thanked the US for financing different academic programs and establishing fellowships, all of which seeks to raise future Georgian leaders.

While delivering his speech Kvirikashvili spoke of Georgia-US diplomatic relations spanning the past 25 years and shared his own academic experience in the USA with the audience.

1995 was the year when my first exposure to the US took place. This was the year when Professor Robert Medearis at UC Davis – many of you may remember-the founder of the Silicon Valley concept and the Silicon Valley Bank came to Georgia together with George Schultz to establish the first US-sponsored training program in Georgia. It was called the Georgia Business Training Program in its first year and Georgia Banking Training Program in the second, of which I took part. I had a real privilege – and I think it was luck, first of all – to be part of this group of ten young Georgian students who went, right after the civil war and disaster in this country, to the United States.

PM Kvirikashvili delieverd his speech at the US Alumni Leadership Forum. Photo by the PM's press office.

It is very difficult to describe the emotions we all had when we arrived to the States. We had lectures for a month at UC Davis in leadership, market economy. Then we were split in groups of two and sent to different places, some to Los Angeles and others to San Francisco. Two of us were allocated to a place called Fresno, an agricultural center in California. Lot of my friends were joking. I come from Kakheti, and now I was in a place surrounded by vineyards. My friends would tell me, ‘This is a logical, natural place for you to be.’

Joking aside, this experience turned out to be very important in my banking career because it was related to agricultural lending. When I came back, it turned out to be a turning point in my career," the PM said and added that those two months made him decide to apply for a US master's degree program.

Kvirikashvili claimed this experience was very important for transforming Georgia from a country plagued by civil wars into a dynamic, rapidly developing, democratic Western state.

Gave a speech at #US Alumni Leadership Forum.Grateful to our American friends for shaping new leaders for #Georgiapic.twitter.com/mIVba4OHRF

— Giorgi Kvirikashvili (@KvirikashviliGi) April 28, 2017

The Prime Minister also discussed US-Georgia strategic relations and Georgia's achievements over the past few years.

Today Georgia is a strategic ally of the United States. It is another world compared to two decades ago. Every area of our country - from health and education to the economy, and, democracy, rule of law, and human rights - has progressed dramatically.

Although there remains a lot of work to be done, I cannot help but express my deep appreciation and gratitude for the United States for standing with us in the most dramatic periods of our recent history and being one of the most ardent supporters and contributors to Georgia's modern success story,” said Kvirikashvili.

In his words the support of the US has been crucial to Georgia’s success, "and America remains our premier strategic ally”.