Mr. State Minister I wish to welcome you - the Turkish delegation, the Governor of Artvini and the Head of the Ajarian Government Levan Varshalomidze.

I consider it most important to welcome the people attending this event, our favorite children and congratulate you on the day of opening one more new special school in Georgia.

I want to tell you that our major promise, idea and direction are directed at those children who have come to this beautiful school-yard together with their parents.

Recently, Dimitry Shashkin and I opened a very good, new school in Borjomi. We visited the 1st Experimental School and started planning of a new school. Yesterday I affirmed the project that I had promised the schoolchildren and teachers.

In Mleta there was a big, old, practically destroyed school and we came to decision to build a new, small school.

In the last few years 90% of schools in Georgia underwent at least one stage of rehabilitation. We can say that today all schools in Georgia are practically heated.

When I became President, there was no central heating at any school in Georgia.

Every school in Georgia has at least part of equipment. When I became President schools had the equipment of the 70ies.

Today all schools in Georgia can practice sports. We built thousands of stadiums, though there are places where they will be built. We are making a decision to build such a gym in every school in the nearest future.

All the schools in Tbilisi will have gyms and stadiums.

In many schools swimming pools are built or rehabilitated. We will become a country having modern schools and modern infrastructure in education.

Infrastructure is important to make teachers as well as school-children feel good. In those schools where there are chimneys in the windows and where the school-children collect money to buy wood, it is practically impossible to get good education and to teach well.

This is why we have lost the whole generation - professional qualities and the systems collapsed.

I have found out some news today - you know that "Sheraton" will open in Batumi and hundreds of people will be employed there.

I am glad that first 50 people hired there are from the professional training school that was opened by my initiative several years ago.

Here in Batumi the biggest hotel complex "Kempinski" is being built. This complex will employ several thousand people. We have an order from them to prepare these people at Kobuleti training center for them. We as well have an order from "Radisson Hotel", the construction of which will have been completed by the end of the year. We have an order from "Hilton" that will start functioning next year.

I haven't seen a small city like Batumi anywhere where so many brands and big complexes are concentrated.

Of course we have to create something extraordinary in Georgia.

Our main task is integrate Georgia's educational system into world system. This is why it is so important what our Turkish friends are doing here. They came to Georgia when no one came here; they developed several Universities and several best schools here. These schools raise people who will be not only the firm base for Turkish-Georgian friendship. This is great friendship, this is visa-free traveling, investments, transparent boarders, employment of our citizens, perspectives and one of our major windows into Europe.

These are schools where first of all Georgian patriots are raised - they are taught love to Georgia. Turkey knows pretty well how to love motherland, knows what is patriotism and appreciates this feeling.

This is one of the directions that we are working on. There are French schools in Georgia. A German school is being built. There is an American school and there are schools, which give such education that will allow the school children to be directly enlisted in the foreign universities.

It is important to equip every school be it in Mleta, this school and every school in Ajaria. 80% of schools in Ajaria have already been rehabilitated and this is an absolute record not only in the scope of Georgia, but in the scope of the whole region. All the desks have been changed in these schools, they have been equipped by modern-standards, techniques, they are completely computerized. This is the good work and it must be spread all around Georgia.

Our aim is to convert our children's abilities into international world level success, by the education that we will give them.

These are not fantasies. Starting from next year we are bringing about 1000 English language teachers practically to every regional center of Georgia.

These young people will not only teach a foreign language in Georgia, but become ambassadors of Georgia in those countries that they will come from.

This is very important.

We must learn foreign languages by all beans, we must know Turkish, English, Arabic, Persian, German, French and remember Russian.

This is necessary in order to become professionals in every sphere.

Estonia, which is smaller than us managed to create the most successful in the last years program - Skype. Much money was put into education in this country; they are free and independent and this explains how they reached success. We took after their reforms and we even went ahead.

Something very important is created in freedom. The adaptation of our system with the Western system is a three-step process: improvement of the quality of education, integration of education and research on the international level, the mobility of students and professors, right development of accreditation system and renewal of the curriculums.

Our professors must be able to teach anywhere and our student must be able to study everywhere.

We usually have a good Minister in education. Kakha Lomaia did a lot. He was the first who implemented justice in education.

Dimitry Shashkin modernizes this system today. The already established justice is must give us a high level of education and future. We need this to save and strengthen Georgia.

When I speak about whole Georgia I always mean that territory of Georgia that is controlled by the Georgian government.

This process doesn't occur and develop on the whole territory of Georgia, the conditions of the teachers do not improve in the whole Georgia, because 20% of Georgian territory is occupied.

I want to address those people who are worried about those activations that take place around Georgia.

We always had such people in Georgia, who didn't love Georgia their country.

There is certain number of people, who have healthy critical attitude towards our reality and our government - this is part of democracy. First they felt hatred towards their government - this is not quite normal and this hatred towards government grew into the hatred towards their country and people. This is absolutely disgusting.

But we have much better perspective than anyone can imagine. I remember Noe Jordania, the first head of Georgian government in 1918-1921. The letter that I want to speak about is kept at the museum of occupation; he addressed the League of Nations and Russia and said: We ask and address Russia. They tell us: return to us, but we tell them we do not want to return, we offer you to go together to Europe.

Of course at the same time there were comrades Philipe Makharadze and Sergo Orjonikidze, who used to say: we don't want to go to Europe together with Russia, Russia is the country that has future and let's return to Russia.

I want to tell you that both sides were mistaken.

Of course Noe Jordania wanted Georgia to be independent. Of course I will not compare him with those traitors, who were blind from hatred and lead the foreign army into our country.

Though one idea united Noe Jordania and this group of traitors - none could imagine Georgia without Russia.

Our government made a choice - we will be in Europe, we will be free, as Georgians the nation of free multi ethnic country, but without Russia.

I am very proud of the fact that a Georgian singer opened the Metropolitan Opera season last year. A Georgian singer Rachvelishvili opened the season in Lascala. I could have not imagined anything like that.

You saw the concert in Batumi on New Year. There are not many countries that can organize such concerts. I am very proud of it. The Georgian soul is seen everywhere and we do not need to implement the other cultures in order to show ourselves. We have very great culture and education.

I am very proud that the Georgian flag flies on different international arenas. I am very proud that we have sports athletes in every sphere of sport.

This is the difference between what we had and what we must have. Recently on TV a representative of the Russian empire, a diplomat tried to instruct us. I remember this man very well, then I was a MP and I remember that no one saw this man sober. This very person tells us that there are only three million Georgians and half of them fled to Russia, this is why we have to adapt to our fortune as our existence without Russia is impossible.

Almost 5 million people live in Georgia. Many people may not be pleased, but by the end of my presidency there will be 5 million already. In the last years much more Georgians returned to Georgia than left the country. Much more Georgians were born than died. When I say "Georgian" I mean our multi ethnic society.

164 thousand more people returned to Georgia, than left the country. These facts are registered on the borders and it is absolute truth.

By the way there are less than 400 thousand Georgians in Russia. They are the best representatives of our country. They constitute the elite of that country.

Among these people they could not find traitors of Georgia, that they could have used against Georgia - only few degraded individuals.

They know Georgia best and they know the price of freedom. They know best the difference between authoritarian system and the system that we are building in Georgia.

When we are told that we are far from the final goal - to be united, strong country where people will live comfortably, of course we know we have a long way to go.

We have gone further than the empire that is arguing with us. We are moving in the right direction and they are moving in the wrong one.

Nobody will be able to ever return Georgia.

Together with these children we will move towards European future and we will all win together.

I want to tell you something, which is very important. New mentality is formed in this school and the success will be achieved only in freedom.

It is not accidental that we have arranged individual desks in many schools of Georgia. The children must be together, but they have to learn to move towards success individually. They must hope in one another, but must not jeopardize each other.

Children are got accustomed to freedom from their childhood. We teach these children self-governance - to elect their presidents, to resolve their problems at school, to have relations with each other by internet...

None of the "Aslan" candidates could ever return these children to the dark past. We are raising free citizens of our country. We must create all conditions for them.

Georgia must not ever become secondary addition of any country.

Georgia is a small country, but a lot of people around Georgia know a lot about our country.

Our name is heard not only because we are in the center of world politics, this is not exiting me at all - I am excited because we are creating something that doesn't exist elsewhere.

We have created police system in region, the corruption doesn't exist any more, we are creating cities that are the best in region, we are developing one of the best infrastructures in Europe.

The main mission of our government is to have a high level of education in this region and we hope in the scope of Europe and the world.

We are Switzerland of this region. We have a lot more to do, but we represent the place where there will be more financial interests and business activities concentrated.

We will do it all together with our friends, but these children will participate in it all.

This school is a small step made towards development. We will reach the final and bad forces will never catch up with us.

I wish to once again congratulate you with one greater day, I wish success to this new school.

Let's all learn to live better!

Press Office
of the President of Georgia