The Minister of Energy and the representative of the Turkish company "Urban Energy" signed an agreement on constructing a new hydroelectric station on Paravani. The new project will solve the problem of employment and in long-term perspective will be guarantee of the Georgian energy security. Today the President of Georgia made a comment on the current political processes in Georgia.
"I wish to welcome the initiators of this project.
I want all of us to realize that this is a critical moment for the Georgian economy.
After many years' preparatory work, since the construction of Enguri hydroelectric station, no hydroelectric station has been built in Georgia.
By today's signature in the nearest future we are starting a full-scale construction work of the first large hydroelectric station since the declaration of Georgia's independence.
We are starting further development of the energy sector.
In four years coming the Georgian government and I are planning to build a new scale hydro-resources that will be as large as Enguri hydroelectric station.
This means that Georgia will once and forever solve the energy security issues.
We will not be dependant on the import and it at the same time means that our energy will be cheap, secure and very important for the development of our economy. It is important because thousands of people will be employed here in the nearest future.
In Javakheti, Aspindza, Akhaltsikhe, Ninotsminda and other villages and towns surrounding Paravani, were a lot of unemployed people here. We are constructing railway in cooperation with Azerbaijani and Turks. This will connect the railway lines between North China and Europe. This railway is already being built it is not a project. People are employed there.
We are building two new long roads. One will be completed next year and will connect Akhalkalaki with Tbilisi.
This is historic construction process, because Javakheti that was torn from Tbilisi will be connected with Tbilisi by means of a modern road.
The other road will connect this region with Batumi.
A large tourist complex construction started in Akhaltsikhe.
This is a foreign investment thousand of people are employed here.
In two years we will lack the workers in this region.
Several days ago we signed 200 million dollar investment in Kutaisi.
These plants will be constructed in the nearest future and local population will start work there.
Foreign companies are already coming to Poti.
24 hour running water system was constructed in Poti.
All the infrastructure in this region will be ready to give people better living conditions.
In spite of difficulties Georgia has a chance this year to increase positive economic growth.
Nick Gilauri met the Georgian businessmen.
They noted that January and February were really very hard and in March and in April the economy started its revival.
I want to say a few words about yesterday. I think that yesterday was very important for our democracy.
One part of our society has expressed its will as it should correspond to a country with high-level culture and a country, which is in the process of becoming European democracy.
I am glad that yesterday the state and our citizens, a great majority of political spectrum demonstrated political maturity and handled this issue with responsibility.
Any political instability contains risks of the economy.
For example, I want to say that in recent days demand for U.S. dollar has sharply increased on the currency exchange market, because there was an inflated expectation in respect of April 9.
The society and business sector have seen that Georgia is a stable, firm, rapidly developing democracy and this is very important.
Yesterday our friends were here, they specially arrived on this day to demonstrate that they believe in Georgia's future.
We should understand that all these investments mean giving a new chance, new opportunity to Georgian families, to each representative of Georgia's multi-ethnic population.
I want to say to the people, who gathered there yesterday and those people, who expressed their will through a democratic process. The opinion of each citizen, who expresses protest, is very important for me, the position of each citizen expressed yesterday is very important for me.
I take to heart the hardship of each of them, the problem of each of them, the expectation of each of them, the hopes of each of them, because I know well that there is a great hardship and poverty in our country, which has been aggravated by the war and the global economic crisis.
Today our citizens are angry about this hardship and the problems, which they come across, about this sense of pessimism.
I want to say that I am also very angry about this poverty and problems, about this economic hardship and those security problems, which our country faces.
But it is not so easy to overcome this and it requires hard work and right decisions.
Most of all, it requires the unity of our citizens, the unity of political forces around major issues; it requires dialogue and sharing of responsibility about the future of the country, as well as joining hands, standing together while making decisions on all the major issues.
It requires dialogue and we were always ready and especially within last months we expressed our readiness for a dialogue.
It is very easy to trigger splitting and confrontation. It is very easy to speak with ultimatums and take the position as if you are not interested in the opinions of others.
But it is difficult to work together, to cooperate, to forget about insults, to share opinions at least partially, to share other's positions, to accept these positions and to change your position at least partially.
Today, when the country is suffering, today, when our citizens are suffering and many families are fighting for their survival and for their future, we simply do not have other alternative than a dialogue and sharing of responsibility. We are ready to talk to everyone", stated the President of Georgia.
Press Office
of the President of Georgia