Economic development, new businesses, pensions, private property rights - these were the issues that Mikheil Saakashvili focussed on in an address this evening. The president said that there were concrete figures which indicate that the government is working successfully. He devoted special attention to the country's defence capabilities, saying that Georgia is now able to repel any aggression.

[Saakashvili] I want to proclaim out loud that which I could not say before: in the near future Georgia will be ready, given our preparedness, our training and the resources which we have managed to mobilize over the past few years, to repel any possible aggression and attack by any foreign force. Of course we do not expect any attack or aggression and we do not want this. But if we do not want this to happen, we must be ready to repel it. We want peace, but we must ensure that all prospective provocateurs and all prospective troublemakers understand well that they will be met here not by a hedgehog, but by a creature far worse than a hedgehog, thanks to our preparedness, our resources and our motivation.

The number of reservists will reach the figure which we set out before - 100,000 newly trained reservists - by the end of this year/the start of next year. There are some 30,000 people serving in our armed forces and these armed forces have been equipped according to the highest international standard. The programme to equip the armed forces is almost finished and I believe that in the near future we will complete this programme.

[Presenter] For more detailed information on the government's programme and the president's speech we go live to correspondent Vako Avaliani at the State Chancellery.

[Correspondent] The programme for Georgia's unification - this is how Mikheil Saakashvili described the plan which the Georgian government has been working on for the past several years. The president dwelt especially on the social sphere. The yet-to-be approved nominee for health minister [Davit Tqeshelashvili] has already received his first directive - teachers' salaries must be raised to 200 lari [about 120 dollars per month] and all Georgian citizens must be insured. Saakashvili also said that schools should be reequipped and that all children should be computer-savvy. Mikheil Saakashvili gave this order to the education minister. In general, he gave a lot of orders. Nearly all ministers received concrete orders, but the president's most interesting remarks, in my opinion, concerned private property rights.

[Saakashvili] Of course property rights in Georgia are a cornerstone of our development. Georgia is in the top twenty because it meets world standards. But if someone wishes to disfigure a great cultural monument or a beautiful building-[changes tack] A short time ago one honourable person, a talented person whom I personally respect, appeared on television and said: I had a plot of land in the Borjomi Park which I did not visit for several years. I went there and saw a horrible sight - a Ferris wheel had been installed and children were riding on it[, this person said].

Why should there be a [privately owned] plot of land in a park? This is a public place - there is one Borjomi Park in Georgia and it is one of the most unique places in the world and in Europe. How could one possibly think that it is acceptable to acquire a land plot there and then not visit it for several years and then get angry that society is once again using it for its intended purpose and that children are going there. This type of property rights in Georgia will not be protected. That is not property rights, that is appropriation rights. Property rights and support for private initiatives [as heard] are one thing while the right to appropriate and embezzle property is another thing altogether. Excuse me, but we are creating a modern economy. The feudal Shevardnadze regime has long been consigned to the past. Back then loyalty was bought by giving people land plots in public parks. This will no longer happen. Society above all else. The interests of society above all else. The rights of society above all else. There will be no more turning a blind eye to people destroying and appropriating parks or parts of forests designated for public use or disfigures and obliterates the best resorts and uses them for their own private purposes. This will not happen as long as this government and this president are in place in Georgia. And we will be ranked among the top twenty countries in terms of creating the best and most beneficial economic conditions in order to spite those people who are always saying that private property is not protected in Georgia

[Correspondent] The Georgian president also demanded economic growth of 13 to 15 per cent. This growth is to be facilitated by the development of infrastructure - first of all roads. Mikheil Saakashvili said he was content with the fact that roads leading to many resorts have been repaired. The Georgian president also said that major reforms were under way in the agriculture system and that the plan to open 100 new [agricultural processing] businesses was going well. The only agency he singled out for criticism was the Customs Department. The finance minister [nominee Nikoloz Gilauri] received a warning of sorts that he must react appropriately to violations in this system because there have been frequent cases where goods belonging to businesses, as well as construction materials to be used for building hotels and other buildings do not undergo customs clearance. Saakashvili also called on the new Cabinet of Ministers to be uncompromising.

[Saakashvili] The only thing I regret is the compromises that we made in certain cases where we should not have made them. Real reformers are those who, irrespective of what some stupid newspaper writes about them or what name some TV station calls them, go forward and know what is important and what is fundamental for their country and for the unification of their country. This is what I call on you to do. This is the basis of the government's unity. The strength of our government is in its unity, as well as in the fact that we are result-oriented. This means that not even my closest friend can stay in office as minister if he creates a problem or if he fails to accomplish a task. On the contrary, every professional, irrespective of when they joined this team or what they did in the past - if they are strong and capable of doing things, then we must fully appreciate this and fully facilitate them.

Translated by BBC Monitoring

Press Office
of the President of Georgia