2016-11-22
Good Afternoon!
As you are all well aware, Georgian Dream received an overwhelming support of the Georgian population in the General Elections of 2016 and obtained majority of seats in the 9th Parliament of Georgia. In line with the procedures envisaged in the Constitution, new composition of the Government of Georgia needs to be endorsed by the Parliament of Georgia.
It is my duty - as a future Head of the Government of Georgia - to maintain and advance the current democratic environment, degree of security and ensure rapid economic development in the country. A Four Point Plan of the Reform Agenda has been developed to meet this goal and through the effective implementation of the reform initiatives let me nominate the new composition of the Cabinet of Ministers to the Parliament of Georgia.
In the context of rapid development of events worldwide, circumstances have taken a quick pace and we tend to face new challenges every single day. We are thus required to respond to these challenges with new energy, quick and effective measures.
First of all let me thank the old composition of the Cabinet of Ministers, with whom we have been doing a lot of significant work and with individual members I gained special relations. Initially, let me thank those people, who will no longer be in the new Cabinet of Ministers, but remaining as members of our team and continuing work at other key positions.
And now let me be more specific:
Mr. Dimitry Kumsishvili, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy will substitute Mr. Nodar Khaduri, Minister of Finance in the future Cabinet of Ministers.
I wish to thank Mr. Khaduri for his past endeavors at such an important period of time for our country, when he was leading one of the most demanding institutions - Ministry of Finance of Georgia - in a most dignified manner. Thank you Mr. Khaduri and let me which you great success in your future endeavors.
As for Mr. Kumsishvili, he is well known to the society and required no special introduction. Dimitry is a very experienced financier within our team. He is an effective manager and has a sound track record of working at high positions at various institutions. So far he has been serving as a Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development and was thereby the First Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia.
Great merits to his active engagement and management such significant projects have been implemented as successful completion of negotiations of Free Trade Agreement with China, Transition to Digital Broadcasting, State Property Inventory, Establishment of TechnoPark, etc. In addition, Mr. Kumsishvili has contributed a lot to the design, development and implementation of a Government Program branded as Produce in Georgia.
Mr. Kumsishvili will be appointed as Minister of Finance of Georgia and will maintain his ranking as First Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia.
Following adjustment applies to the Ministry of Energy of Georgia. Mr. Kakhi Kaladze will return to his position.
Mr. Kaladze is an outstanding member of our team, who is a General Secretary of the Coalition of Georgian Dream at the same time. His made a great contribution to the overwhelming success of our team in the General Elections of this year and I wish to once again express my gratitude to him for this. He is presently returning to the institution he knows very well. Kakhi is thoroughly aware of all the challenges in the energy sector of the country. A lot of significant projects were implemented within his tenure as a Minister of Energy. They include: supply of power energy to villages that never previously had lighting and heating, construction of new hydro power plants (HPPs), thermal power plants (TPPs) and wind farm in Kareli - which I wish to mention as a project on its own merits. I am convinced that with his management this institution will do much more beneficial projects for the country and I wish him great success in this. At the same time, Mr. Kaladze will maintain his ranking as a Deputy Prime Minister. I wish to hereby express my gratitude to Mr. Ilya Eloshvili, who is staying within our team and continues to work at the position of Deputy Minister of Energy.
As a successor of Mr. Dimitry Kumsishvili and future Minister of Economy of Georgia let me nominate Mr. Giorgi Gakharia.
Mr. Gakharia is a qualified economist. He holds Master's Degree in Political Science and Business Management. He has a good vision and modern approach to the economic development of the country. Mr. Gakharia has worked at leading positions of various international companies. Since 2013 he has been serving as a Business Ombudsman and Assistant to the Prime Minister of Georgia for Economic Affairs.
He has been recently elected to the 9th Parliament of Georgia from the party list of Georgian Dream. Giorgi has always been a defender of business interest within the Government of Georgia and from now on he will care about the business interest and development from his new capacity as a Minister of Economy. I wish him great success. I am confident that Giorgi will play a significant role together with us and businesses in a rapid economic development and advancement of the country.
I also wish to nominate one more candidate for the position of a minister within the Economic Team. Change this time applies to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
Initially, let me thank Mr. Nodar Javakhishvili, within the tenure of which a number of very important infrastructure projects were launched. A most outstanding of them all is the construction of Roshka-Arkhoti fragment of the road, which has been labeled as a Project of Centenary Significance. Previously, Mr. Javakhishvili has played a most important role in the shaping of the National Bank of Georgia into a modern institution. He is a high-caliber economist and will continue work within our team at another key position. Mr. Javakhishvili, let me thank you greatly for your past work and wish success in future!
Now, let me nominate Mr. Zurab Alavidze as a new Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
Mr. Alavidze is a young, energetic manager, who has mainly worked in the private sector of the country. At some point in the past he served as a Deputy Minister of Economy of Georgia. He was also exposed to banking and finance sector. Mr. Alavidze has a great management experience in large infrastructure projects. This is one of the main reasons for nominating him to the position of a Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development. You may well be aware that Spatial Planning is one of the key directions of the Four Point Plan of the Government of Georgia. Ministry of Infrastructure plays a very significant role in carrying out the referred plan. Implementation of the anticipated ambitious infrastructure projects will greatly benefit of the person with great qualifications and professionalism as Mr. Alavidze. On the one hand, he will accelerate the construction of these projects and on the other hand will care for the effective attraction of essential resources from International Financial Institutions (IFIs).
Another change relates to a very important area for the country - European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
You may well be aware that Mr. David Bakradze held a position of the State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. He was recently nominated by us for the position of an Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Georgia to the Unites States of America (USA). Mr. Bakradze has made a substantial contribution to the approximation of Georgia to European and Euro-Atlantic Institutions. He managed this key direction of the country when historic steps were made by the country - Association Agreement (AA) and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) were concluded by and between the European Union (EU) and Georgia; visa-liberalization has been put on top of our agenda along with other significant achievements.
I am confident that such experienced diplomat as David will further deepen our strategic partnership with USA and make significant steps towards more approximation with our key partner. Mr. Bakradze, let me thank you enormously and wish you great success at this rather important position.
As for the successor, let me nominate Mr. Victor Dolidze to the position of the State Minister of Georgia for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
Mr. Dolidze was an active member of the Coalition of Georgian Dream and from the outset was engaged in strengthening the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Georgia. He has a great network and Western World knows him well as an experienced and good diplomat. For years he served as an Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Georgia to the Republics of Austria and Hungary. Also, he was a Resident Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna and Chaired a Committee for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration at the Parliament of Georgia. He always played a significant role in the interaction of the Parliament and country at large with European institutions. Victor Dolidze has always been a constructive partner of our Government in the quest for approximation with European and Euro-Atlantic structures both within the Coalition and later without this status.
Let me congratulate Victor with his return to our team and nomination at this important position for the country.
As for other members of the Cabinet of Ministers, you may all be aware that State Minister's Office for Diasporas has been merged with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and state ministerial duties will be performed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Let me hereby thank Mr. Gela Dumbadze for his past efforts within this very important capacity during his term as a State Minister. A lot of rather beneficial achievements for the Georgian diaspora all over the world have been initiated and completed within his service. Let me wish him success in his capacity as a diplomat. We believe that he has very interesting prospects in this domain.
Otherwise, current composition of the Cabinet of Ministers remains unchanged at this point in time. We keep work with a unified team spirit and principles for the rapid development of our country and prosperity of each and every citizen of Georgia.
Thank you all for your attention!
Prime Minister's Press Office