The President of Georgia held a broad government cabinet meeting, attended by members of parliament, governors and representatives of business, in Batumi today. The 10 Point Plan, which includes the main social-economic policy direction of the country, was discussed during the cabinet session. The above-mentioned project also includes an action plan for solving the unemployment issue and modernizing the country. The document will be renewed every 6 months.
Sustaining macroeconomic stability, developing and sustaining the best investment and business environment, improving infrastructure, agriculture and the education systems as well as refining social policies, are some of the main components of the 10 Point Plan. Also, according to the urban and regional development program, an affordable and high quality medical care system should be developed for the country.
The President of Georgia noted that the representatives of parliament and business were specially invited by him in order to discuss this specific project. According to Mikheil Saakashvili, it is imperative that those who are responsible for employing people actively participate in the discussion regarding the social plan and the unemployment problem. The President believes that their remarks and advice will play an important role in the process of successfully implementing this plan.
“I have an offer which is very important to me. If any one of you hires persons between the ages of 45-60 to work for your business you will be exempt from taxes to a certain extent. We have many educated people and they just got unlucky. The first stimulating step for businesses was this – being exempt from income taxes. We will come up with a stimulus plan in order to help you increase employment opportunities for people in this age group in the private sector. We will also assist you in retraining these people, so that they satisfy the demands of the current job market” – noted Mikheil Saakashvili.
The President of Georgia expressed his dissatisfaction with the work of “Samtrest” and noted that its director has already been relieved of his duties. He ordered the new Minister of Agriculture to hire the best manager by way of a competition, who will take high quality Georgian wine to the international market. According to Mikheil Saakashvili, the destiny of our wine shall not be dependent on decisions of people working in relevant government bodies of other countries. The President of Georgia also stated that he will continue working in this direction with Bakur Kvezereli, who will be the Head of the Agriculture Partner Fund.