Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili addressed the members and supporters of the Georgian Dream party, diplomats, government members, lawmakers and media with the speech full of messages about Georgia’s further development plan at the ruling party convention held in Tbilisi today.
Kvirikashvili stated that Georgia’s former Prime Minister’s Bidzina Ivanishvili’s decision to return to politics and to rule the party his had founded in 2012 as the chairman will provide Georgian Dream- Democratic Georgia with ‘’greater strength and a fresh approach’’.
The congress’s delegates unanimously elected Ivanishvili as the ruling party’s new chairman.
It is necessary for the Georgian Dream party to develop into strong institution with long-term prospects, which will work at full throttle throughout the cycle between elections, focusing on constant development. It is especially important in light of the recent constitutional amendments,’’ underlined Kvirikashvili explaining his vision of party’s next goals.
He summed up the past six years when Georgian Dream has been in power and emphasised top priorities and some results.
Since 2012, our team … has always given top priority to the protection of all fundamental human rights. Freedom of speech and expression, judiciary and media freedom, right to life and property -- the staunch protection of these fundamental values of a democratic state has been and remains our government’s greatest achievement’’, stated Prime Minister.
Bidzina Ivanishvili was elected as the chairman of Georgian Dream unanimously and returned to politics after five year break. Photo: PM Kvirikashvili's press office.
Kvirikashvili also highlighted Georgia’s foreign policy issues focusing on integration with European Union and NATO.
The New Concept of the Roadmap for Georgia’s EU Integration, with its slogan reading More Integration for More Opportunities, has already been developed. The new concept seeks to make the fullest possible use of the existing mechanisms of cooperation with the EU, and the opportunities found beyond the Association Agreement, to support Georgia in its preparations for further integration into the EU,’’ said Kvirikashvili.
He also underlined the close cooperation with US, ‘’our main strategic ally’’ saying that the country feels ‘’firm support of American friends at every level’’.
The occupation of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali regions by Russia is still Georgia’s main challenge. Prime Minister underlined the huge international support of countries latest peace initiatives and ‘’pragmatic foreign policy’’ regarding Russia.
Kvirikashvili named unemployment and poverty as Georgia’s main domestic challenges.
Our major challenge today lies in achieving rapid economic advancement…. The only way to defeat poverty is to create jobs and employ our citizens. Jobs are created by business, and this is where the solution to this problem lies, which is why I am motivated, and we are doing everything, to provide business with a healthy, friendly and competitive, safe and stable environment, so that start-ups may be motivated and the entrepreneurial spirit may be raised among youth.’’