Let me greet everyone.
I want to congratulate you on today.
It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to come up here by the new Zugdidi-Mestia road.
This is not only a road to Mestia; this is a source of supplies and means of transportation as well as road to education for each one of you.
For you and for the rest of Georgia this is a road towards the future, the road which comes to Mestia - The most beautiful corner of Georgia.
I want to congratulate every one of you.
What you see here is a result of thinking and planning for many years.
While driving here, I saw some construction workers. I wanted to stop, shake hands of each one of them and look in their eyes because I know that even 10 minutes ago there was construction going on here.
This stone road was built last night, when the temperature was +2 C.
We are not working quickly to produce low quality, but we are working quickly and producing high quality. We have time.
During this short time period Georgians learned to build faster than anyone in the world- we have to do many things quickly after many years of demolition.
People should be employed at these constructions; they should be bread winners and earn income for their families in order to give their children an education, take care of their family members, overcome poverty, get healthcare, and solve the problems of transportation, existence, breathing as well as everyday problems.
That's why we should work to create everything.
My dear friends, I want to tell you that we are not doing all of this because we want to express Georgia on postcards, but because we want to be proud that we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
They often say: Being an architect, running around like a construction manager, inspecting roads and thinking about every hole in the road is not Presidents business...then whose business is it? What else should we think about? We cannot only talk about matters of high importance - we need to make our country more beautiful every day.
The fact that this place will be more beautiful and well accommodated one day and many tourists will come here is of utmost importance.
Compared to last year, twice as many tourists have visited Svaneti already. We think that this number will triple or quadruple next year. In 2015, according to the modernization plan I am sure that half a million tourists will visit this region and they will outnumber the local population by 30-35 times.
This means that Svanetians have returned to their native hearth. They should be architects of their own prosperity. They shouldn't only make a living here, they should get rich and make all of Georgia rich.
Very talented people live here.
So very many of our famous scientists, intellectuals, artists, builders, public figures, and distinguished citizens come from Svaneti.
There is a very special culture here and very special people. This talent is not only expressed by Svanetian songs and dances, which by the way need to be developed and preserved.
We need to create a club, a choreographic school, because Svaneti has unique folklore and choreography.
In addition, there is unique painting, construction techniques and most importantly ancient high quality European Georgia here.
Some tell jokes about Svaneti, but they will be surprised after coming up here. They better hurry and come up before there isn't enough room to set foot here.
This is a big surprise for the rest of Georgia; The most beautiful region populated by the brightest, the most talented and the most hospitable people and special Europeans.
I was often surprised - the young people know several foreign languages here.
They quickly adjusted to the hotel business, and they find it easy to interact with foreigners, talk to them figuratively about the culture and history of this region and make them feel that they arrived in a very special place.
This place is a business card of Georgia.
Today they argue about whether Georgia should be in Europe, whether we should be a member of EU, and be more protected...As an answer to this question it is enough to bring a person up here and show that person that this place resembles Europe more than most of Western Europe and all of Eastern Europe.
The type of construction that is going on now hasn't happened here for 7 centuries.
This is only a beginning.
A whole complex of hotels is being built in Svaneti. Half a million tourists is a guarantee that whoever builds a hotel here will be busy hosting them and will have an income during all four seasons.
Also, whoever builds a small café here will have an income for all four seasons.
If anyone builds an agricultural reproduction facility it will also help create jobs because there are unique agricultural products here.
Everything has a price of gold here. While driving up here I was telling Ramaz Nikolaishvili and Vera Kobalia that there are such currants growing here, such food ingredients made in the mountains, such special farm products and everything so unique that we cannot resist taking care of it.
All of this provides employment, order, better life and in the end, brings more wealth.
I've said before and am also saying now: Svaneti should be set free of poverty and should become the wealthiest region.
The wealthiest people should live here and that's how it will be - you will see.
Before we achieve this we have to overcome unemployment, poverty, and most importantly hopelessness.
I want to thank Ramaz Nikolaishvili, who is working around the clock.
If you breathe the air of Svaneti even for three days, you will become a Svanetian and put on a local hat.
You probably guessed that I have been a Svanetian for a long time. I think like you and I have a worldview similar to yours. I am satisfied by this and I am very proud.
I would like to thank the Ministry of Economic Development as well as the Tourism Department, the Head of which - Maia Sidamonidze, practically moved to Svaneti and worked very hard. I would also like to thank Kakha Kvitsiani, he is a local man and he won't make any mistakes here.
Other companies also deserve special gratitude. Svaneti always had the best road builders but never a good road; This region always had good builders but nothing has been built here for several years.
The hospitality of Svanetian people has always been amazing but there was a time when nobody visited Svaneti.
The current events mean that Svaneti is basically returning to its original conditions.
Georgia has become active in the process of assisting this region and just like always, this corner will again become the heart of the country, strengthener and the supplier of determination- like it was historically.
When conquers invaded our country, when Georgians were nowhere to be found, and when everything Georgian and national was being rooted out, Svaneti was always untouchable in this regard. Even in the ancient times of King Tamar.
When the Russians ruined one of the last peaks - Khalde, which was the last line of the resistance and the last fight of heroes, Georgians showed an example of tremendous courage and sacrifice to our enemies.
God bless the new Svaneti!
I congratulate you on today!