The President of Georgia addressed young leaders at the American University of Central Asia

12/1/2011

 

The President of Georgia addressed young leaders and students at the American University of Central Asia within the scope of his official visit to Kyrgyzstan. Mikheil Saakashvili spoke to the Kyrgyz youth about the results of the Rose Revolution and the experience of overcoming corruption and bureaucratic obstacles in the country. During his address, he noted that after the implemented reforms Georgia became exemplary for many countries. The President called on the youth to be more active and get involved in the process of the development of the country. According to him, if the youth considers this advice, the success of Kyrgyzstan is inevitable.

“The Georgian reforms have become exemplary for Ukrainians, Moldovans, Russians and Kazakhs people in Panama, the Philippines, and many other countries. Our reforms have been perceived well especially in the countries where the youth are active and more open democratic freedom. The Georgian youth support our course and our modern reforms. As our experience shows us, the transformation of a country is more successful within nations where the youth are more energetic” – stated Mikheil Saakashvili during his address.

Mikheil Saakashvili also answered the questions of the students regarding topics that are of interest to them. The majority of students asked the President about the future relations of the two countries, economic projects and geopolitical issues. The young leaders also expressed interest in the details of the issues regarding the occupied territories and Georgian-Russian relations.

”During the August war, Russia which thought that the Saakashvili regime would end were not able take our capital because the entire world stood up. 6 European leaders stood with the Georgian people in the main square of Tbilisi, which Russia wanted to bomb.  Back then, tens of thousands of people hit the streets. And almost a million of my compatriots formed a living chain to show that we would not give in to the conquerors. The authoritarian regimes will simply collapse in 2-4 years in the entire world, including around us. This is absolutely clear.” – noted the President of Georgia.

One of the questions during the meeting focused on the negotiations regarding the membership of Russia in the WTO. The President of Georgia spoke to the students about the agreement reached with Russia through the help of mediatorS.

“Russia wanted to enter the WTO very much and just like always, they were showing that this was not the case. We guessed their hidden agenda. We are an independent country and a country of principles. There are issues that we can compromise on, but we cannot compromise on issues like this one. In the end, as it appears they understood this.” – noted the President of Georgia.

Such meetings were held at the same university with President Roza Otunbaeva and the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.