I wish to greet you all from Kutaisi, from the holly land of Bagrati cathedral.

The great Church of Bagrati was a symbol of Georgia's firmness and magnificence for centuries. From the yard of this Church, which is worshiped by everybody, I want to speak about the current situation in Georgia, how we are preparing for tomorrow.

Within past 300 years this church has been reflecting Georgia, whose integrity was destroyed, whose freedom was taken away and whose ruins remind us of its magnificence.

But today we live in time of Georgia's revival. Now time has come for Georgia's reunification and strengthening. Now time has come to return previous magnificence and glory. Time has come to recover from the wounds of past and we have launched restoration of our country.

Like the walls of the Church of Bagrati, Georgia is also in such scaffolding. Therefore, I want to ask you to more widely look at where we are coming from, where we are presently and where we want to lead the country.

Let's talk about where we want to be within the next few years.

We are standing now at one of the most decisive stage of Georgian history. Probably, many generations of our ancestors would have given away much to live in the period, when we live. After many years of devastation, we together have managed within past four years to help Georgia out of the most difficult situation; we have turned the country about and started reconstruction and development. We have managed to create a foundation for the Georgian statehood. We have put completely idle economy into operation. We have released the society from the violence of thieves and criminals; we have rebuilt the roads, returned electricity and created much better environment for doing business.

So, we have returned electricity and gas to our homes. We have significantly improved police and army. We have created strong reserve troops, which is mobilized and is ready to protect Georgia. Let us put our hand on the heart and say that we have practically eradicated systemic corruption, which was considered by many people and foreign observers as an impossible task. We have significantly decreased crime in our streets and throughout the country. All this is very good, but we all know well that it is not enough.

Today we do not live in a devastated country any more. But much is still to be done to ensure that each citizen of Georgia, our future generations are much protected, much successful and richer, have more faith in their future and more reason for optimism.

Therefore, I have acknowledged that the expectations of the Rose Revolution have not been delivered for many people. Of course, there are many people, who still expect for these expectations to be delivered.

Living in Georgia for a lot of our citizens is very hard. A level of unemployment is very high. A level of poverty is very high. Over 750,000 citizens of Georgia live in poverty. Not a single leader or official of Georgia will be at the due height of responsibility if he does not work over eradicating of poverty day and night.

Poverty is especially obvious in our villages, where Georgia's heart is beating. We should send our social workers everywhere and register everything anew in order to make exact and fair lists for socially vulnerable people and make the country's social assistance more purpose-oriented and broad.

Today I met a sailor at the veteran's club in Batumi, who spent 50 years in sailing. Then, as a result of unrests, economic hardship and inflation he lost all the money he had saved. Today, this man receives a pension at GEL 80. Of course, this is a great injustice. Of course, we should do our best to make the lives of such people much better.

Our territorial integrity is still to be restored.

I have promised that I would bequeath Georgia to the next president with this problem settled. Together with our Abkhazian and Ossetian brothers, we will get rid of the conflict which was imposed from outside and which is not in the interests of any sober-minded person.

We have a very long road ahead until we normalize the relations with Russia, come closer to the European Union and achieve speedy integration into NATO.

Based on Georgia's national interests, much is still to be done to protect ourselves against radicalism, polarization, various extremist rhetoric and actions.

I travel much across Georgia. I constantly meet with our people, wide strata of the society. I know much about their problems. Of course, our key hope is that our future will be much protected and much better, we will be able to give much more to our children.

Therefore, we have announced about our major goal - Georgia without poverty and as we have already achieved our previous goals -Georgia without corruption, and Georgia without thieves - now we should struggle together to ensure that not a single citizen of Georgia lives without normal living conditions, to ensure that people have hope, dignity, possibility to improve their living so that not only one part of the society, but the entire society feels the progress. Years are needed to achieve this goal, but we have no time to waste.

You know that I am very impatient. I am especially impatient in overcoming poverty, overcoming unemployment and hopelessness, which still is among significant part of our society.

Therefore, I instructed our government to take first steps within the 50-day action plan. We have increased minimal pension up to 70 Lari [per month], we put a program of cheap credits into operation - and this is not an ordinary thing, this is tens of thousands of Georgian families, who have already received cheap credits and managed to create new jobs.

We started taking care of healthcare in rural areas. We opened clinics in many places. We started to revive the cities, which had no perspectives. It was the issue of my prestige to revive Chiatura, Tkibuli, to revive industry in Kutaisi, to revive the traditions of Rustavi and to reflect it in creating better conditions for the residents of Rustavi.

My ambition is to transform Batumi into the most successful and beautiful city in the Black Sea region - it is already beautiful and we will make it even more beautiful. We will achieve beauty when all the families have a beautiful life, when all the families have incomes, when the richest families live here in the Black Sea region. We will achieve it together.

The first 50 days showed me that the Georgian government is efficient, but I also saw that the government and all of us can do much more.

During this period we have reached a significant diplomatic success.

Against the background of recent confrontation, the entire world stood to protect Georgia. But we need much more. We want this protection to go further beyond the statements and rhetoric; we want concrete, issue-based statement and assistance for restoring our territorial integrity, removing our foreign threats.

At the same time, for these latest days we have observed what I had been waiting for 15 years - the UN General Assembly officially recognized in its historical resolution - and this is not a regular resolution, this is a historical resolution for Georgia and for the entire region - so, it recognized ethnic cleansing carried out in Abkhazia and 500,000 people of various ethnicity becoming victims; [the resolution] legalized the right of unconditional return of all refugees, as well as their right to property.

Despite a number of bilateral difficulties, we took steps towards normalizing certain aspects in the relations with Russia. Transport links were resumed, we are in talks about restoration of trade and simplification of visa rules.

At the same time, we tried to take a step, which should have triggered a lesser polarization in the country. I have said numerously that we do not have Georgians to lose and I, as the President of Georgia, do not think that someone in Georgia is my enemy or the enemy of that political force, whom I represent.

I have numerously tried to extend my hand of cooperation to the opposition. We managed to agree on some issues - for example, regarding implementation of reforms at the Georgian Public Broadcaster - but unfortunately, despite our proposals, we failed to agree on many other issues.

After the January [presidential] elections, you remember, I offered top positions in the Georgian government to the opposition. Unfortunately, they did not accept this proposal.

But I have not lost hope and I am sure that everything should be done to overcome radicalism, to find a common language on all major issues. I offered them to hold regular meetings on national security issues.

I have numerously asked them to talk and establish a common position regarding Abkhazia. I regret that we received refusal from them in most cases, but I will do my best to establish cooperation with the opposition, because protection of the interests of our country and our people requires it from me.

We managed to do much during past four years and 50 days, but it is only the beginning. Now, time has come to look at a far horizon. Now, we should look at the future and define in which direction we want to move within the next years. Instead of 50 days we should now define what our plan is for the next 50 months.

The key goal of my 50-month program is to employ people and to create new jobs throughout Georgia, to create conditions for a dignified life of each person.

I am sure that in case of high voter turnout, a sound force will win in the elections, but in any case, I have a concrete plan and I will demand the future government to fulfill it:

• Increase of monthly pensions up to USD 100 in a next months, starting from the next year; Expansion of a program on cheap credits; Transformation of Georgia into the center of regional economy and trade, turning Georgia into Dubai and Singapore of this region; Implementing reforms in the social protection system so that it becomes more fair, assists more people and especially those, who need it most of all. Strengthening of the Georgian village and providing employment there, putting the rural enterprises into exploitation and irrigation of lands, assisting farmers in cultivation and realization of products, improving healthcare and education in rural areas. Gasification of entire Georgia so that each village receives gas and heating and household expenses become cheaper for the people; Round-the-clock water supplies countrywide. Successful completion of the process of Georgia's integration into NATO; Normalization of the relations with Russia; Unification of our society and establishing cooperation between political forces for better protection of the country and its people.

And what is most important: restoration of territorial integrity of our country, protection of its inviolability and sovereignty, as well as reinforcement of our peace efforts.

These are the key goals of our people and I am sure that together we will manage to achieve these goals. Now, our country needs unity and realization of these goals.

Now our people need a huge responsibility of the government and the parliament and I am sure that it will make the most correct choice - it will choose not confrontation, but unity, not chaos but order, not destruction, but construction.

It will choose the force which will be able to achieve these huge goals.

Georgia does not undergo calm days today. A great evil is confronting the unity of our country and takes the offensive.

Georgia's ill-wisher wants to turn the May 21 elections into the wave of confrontation and chaos and just therefore, we together, regardless of our political opinions, should do our best to hold elections in a calm, fair and free atmosphere.

Not only Georgian state is attacked, but the attack is carried out against the key values: freedom and democracy of the Georgian nation.

And the bigger this attack is, the more devotion we should show towards our values of freedom and democracy.

Democratic and fair elections should bring firmness, calmness and development inside the country and another clear recognition outside the country. In order to protect better future, Georgia needs to be recognized as a free and democratic country, as a country, which is devoted to the European values.

Our ill-wisher tries to weaken us through violence and aggression, while we should strengthen through freedom and democracy.

Georgia's victory is not measured only by figures and statistics.

Georgia's victory is measured by how all political forces feel their responsibility before their own people and native land; how each politician has acknowledged his function of a Georgian citizen and a patriot; how they can bring everything to the end and justify people's expectations; have they the right to be people's elect, to put the country's interests above their own ambitions, to put unity above everything and lead the country in this difficult period.

I know that on May 21 people will elect the most dignified persons and I will do my best to ensure that people's choice is respected as much as possible.

The next parliament should be stronger and for this purpose, I will offer it a new form of cooperation.

Today, according to the constitution, the Georgian President has to report about the state of affairs in the country to the parliament once in a year [the state of the nation address in the parliament]. I am ready to come into the parliament at least once in three months and to answer all the possible sharp questions of all lawmakers. I will have systematic and frequent meetings with even the smallest factions in the parliament

Today the government considers the draft state budget before it is submitted to the parliament for consideration, but I am ready to involve all the parliamentary factions in the process of developing the draft state budget, before the government starts its consideration.

I will work more actively with the parliament to strengthen parliamentary control over the government and in this regard I am ready to - although I am not obliged to do so according to the constitution - re-submit the cabinet for confidence vote in the new parliament.

I will spare no efforts to ensure that the opposition more actively gets involved in the process of the ruling the country, to reduce polarization and confrontation in our politics, to make meetings and negotiations more fruitful and desirable for everyone, rather than protest rallies.

I hope that other politicians will also join me in this [initiative].

There is the Church of Bagrat behind me, which is under reconstruction now. It reminds us of disintegrated Georgia. By looking at this church, we acknowledge better how important the unity of our country and our people is.

Our force is in unity and as the Church of Bagrat will not return its glory, unless it is reconstructed, as Georgia will not return its strength unless we united. Georgia will fail to overcome great obstacles, if we do not overcome great polarization and split.

This is why Georgia's victory begins with our integration because our force is solely in unity.

God bless our exceptional, unique and beautiful country - Georgia, and each of you!

Press Office
of the President of Georgia