Candidates for healthcare, foreign ministries address parliament
Candidates for Minister of Health Ekaterine Tikaradze and Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani came to parliament earlier today to brief MPs regarding the intentions of the two ministries. Photo: Health Ministry press office.
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MPs in the Georgian parliament have heard from the nominees for foreign minister and the minister of heath earlier today, before the legislators vote for the new cabinet of ministers later this week.
The candidate for Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said that Georgia will continue taking active steps towards the country’s integration into NATO and the EU and will ensure closer ties with one of its key strategic partners, the United States.
He said that Georgia has been raising the issue of the occupation of Georgian lands by Russia from all international tribunes.
We will continue to peacefully resolve the conflict with the help of our foreign partners and international organisations,” Zalkaliani said.
Zalkaliani took the post of FM iin June 2018. Photo: Parliament's press office.
He stated that this year Georgia will take over the chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Committee of Ministers for a six-month term from November 2019 to May 2020, “which will be a huge event in the history of Georgia,” and will help the country push forward the issues which trouble the nation.
The candidate for Health Ministry Ekaterine Tikaradze said that a state funding system for the General Healthcare programme will be revised to further decrease people’s medical expenditures and ensure a higher quality of service.
She said that negotiations will take place with several countries to ensure affordable treatment for Georgian cancer patients before the country ensures high standards in treatment.
Tikaradze said that the regional development in terms of provision medical services will be in focus to avoid an inflow of patients to Tbilisi.
Members of the new cabinet have been nominated after the resignation of PM Mamuka Bakhtadze earlier this week.
Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia has been nominated to replace him.
The government plan for 2019-2020, submitted to parliament by the candidate for the premiership Giorgi Gakharia, reads that the top goal of the new government will be taking more active steps for Georgia’s faster integration into NATO and the EU and the further strengthening of relations with the US.
The Georgian Dream ruling party has nominated Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia for the premiership earlier today which has been followed by harsh criticism of the opposition and demonstrators who have been protesting the rally dispersal on Rustaveli Avenue on June 20-21 for 76 days.
The parliamentary opposition has suspended the first day of the autumn session in parliament with whistles and loud statements, protesting the nomination of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia as the new PM of the country. A member of the European Georgia opposition Elene Khoshtaria started whistling as soon as the national anthem finished in parliament earlier today,
The Georgian Dream ruling party candidate for the premiership Giorgi Gakharia has already submitted the names of the nominees in the new cabinet to parliament which excludes only current Defence Minister Levan Izoria and nominates current head of the State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri as the replacement of Gakharia.
The candidate for defence minister, former PM Irakli Garibashvili, vowed to develop the weapons industry in the country and stated Georgia must produce all types of weapons except nuclear.
The candidate for interior minister and current head of the State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri says that in the coming months 5,000 cameras in total will work around Georgia and 40 per cent of them will be equipped with a face and license plate recognition system.
The candidate for Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani says that the election lists have been refined under the Georgian Dream leadership, making it impossible to falsify the data of more than 3,100,000 voters.Tsulukiani says that there are 3,561,126 voters registered in Georgia and the refining of the remaining portion of the lists will continue for the country to have fully refined election lists for the 2020 parliamentary elections.