The President of Georgia Visited Kakheti Region

1/20/2011

The President of Georgia went to Sighnaghi today and visited a newly opened hotel "Solomon 1805" that belongs to "Chkonia Holding Group". All required conditions are created for the guests and visitors for leisure and fun, as well as for working purposes. The hotel has very comfortable rooms, modern conference room and a restaurant. The President pointed out that such infrastructure gives a chance to develop tourism in Sighnaghi and gives a chance to the population to get additional income.

"The hotel has very comfortable rooms, four years ago we declared that we would start revival in Sighnaghi and I remember this was just an ordinary and unsightly town, surrounded with hopelessness. The population was leaving it. Today, when we face so many challenges, among them in economic sphere - prices are increasing on fuel, food and on elementary consumer products - the only way out for us is strengthening of agriculture. Especially, when we are not a country obtaining fuel. This is why we are introducing new seeding material and new breeds. We also have to create new jobs, in order to give people a chance to work and have a chance to buy expensive products. One of the important means of employment in Georgia is tourism. Temur Chkonia built a really high-class hotel in Kobuleti. Now he constructed this hotel, which is of high-class as well. We recently visited Svaneti together and we are starting the construction of new hotel in Mestia as well. Every constructed hotel means additional employed people. The most important thing is that the change was made in Sighnaghi and people believed for better. This change means an additional income for their families, because at least there is one employed person in each family. For these people all social problems, among them increased prices on flour, products, fuel - is undoubtedly painful, but when there is no way out, we have no perspective and we are depending practically on fate the situation is rather heavy", the President of Georgia noted.

The President continued his way to village Jugaani and visited new school of modern standards. 268 children study in this school. The school has a library, sport's palace, an open door square, computer lab, and rooms of natural sciences, English, defense and security lessons. Mikheil Saakashvili attended a class of physics and spoke with schildren and teachers. He handed computers to two most successful schoolchildren Salome Kikalishvili and Mariam Zedelashvili with laptops.

"Educated society looks this way - if you are well-prepared, no matter how difficult the economic situation is - everybody will have the same chances. You have exactly the same conditions, as children have in California, Hong Kong and Changhai. The major thing for you is to have quality of education. I spoke with the Minister of Education already about the implementation of inventor's contest. Before that we must hold such contests at schools. Rewards and benefits must be brought in for such purposes in order to make each child to think about creating and inventing something. If we don't want to study invention, thinking and then its implementation in life, we will be left behind the world competition hopelessly. Our aim is that each of you finally to create something with this little inventions. It is good that you participate in Olympics. The major thing is that we would have conditions for studying and receiving information. It is very important for everyone to read and write in English. Access to the information in internet is also very important. In today's practice, modern knowledge changes in such a fast tempo that you have no time even to print out the placards - because it gets old so quickly. Some certificates becomes out of date in the process of printing, this is why you have to be in internet permanently, search, study and think. Why are you less than those people, who invent and create? You must invent something new and make your teachers, school, parents and your village Jugaani proud of you", the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili stated.

The President spoke with the local population that specially gathered to meet him. The President stressed his attention on the development of agriculture and on the creation of new jobs.

"I am glad that new school opened. We have opened several schools like this and every time I cant stop thinking about having such schools in whole Georgia. I am glad that we came here passing a very good concrete road. This road was destroyed before and we almost used tractors instead of cars. It is true that we still have to do more. For example we have to bring the ambulatory in order. Though, everything will be done step-by-step. The main thing is that when price on products increase so rapidly, we have to cultivate the land and create products. We are introducing new seeding breeds, train people, but Kakhetian land is so good that if people will start working - no matter how serious the drought is - they can reach everything. Who works hard, they are able to feed their families and country as well. I want to create conditions, when people standing on the streets, become attached to the land, because there is so much land that is not cultivated around us. And we have no ability to have harvest. Our country needs to produce products as never before, because everything gets more expensive. We must invent such technologies that we would never need to import anything from foreign countries and to export our technologies to the world market. Many inventors would be raised in this new school. Their families, village and the whole country will be proud of them", - Mikheil Saakashvili noted.