The Government is keeping its promises, Saakashvili says

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has opened a paper mill in the village of Tserovani, which is populated by IDPs from the Georgian villages occupied by Russian troops since August 2008. Saakashvili said the new enterprise will provide these IDPs with jobs and the Government had kept its promise to provide housing and assistance to the IDPs, as well as finding them work.

“This is not only the opening of a new factory in Georgia, but the keeping of our promise to you that, as well as houses and minimal living conditions, you would also have jobs here,” the President told the IDPs gathered in Tserovani “It is really very important that the Government does not say things in vain, no matter how big a crisis is, no matter what kind of problems the budget might have, no matter how hard the geopolitical situation might be. We have said we would employ people, so we should make sure that actual people are employed in actual jobs,” he added.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the mill Saakashvili said that starting a paper production enterprise is important, as for many years Georgia has not produced its own paper products. “I saw today for the first time in many years Georgian-made production in this sphere. We used to have paper factories in Georgia but all of them closed during the nineties of the last century,” he noted. “I am happy to see here specialists who have not worked for many years, people with huge experience of tens of years who can work today to create new enterprises. I want to say that our arrival here means that we have kept our promise to the people who needed the state’s assistance most of all, the people who were deprived of their houses and villages by the occupiers,” he reiterated.

The President said it is important to realise that “our future is in our hands.” “Every new employed person is a small victory and a step forward towards winning our big battle. If the Georgian economy survives, and I am sure it will survive, if our people will manage to maintain stability despite all the attempts of the enemy to disrupt this it, and if we manage to keep our families we will be able to overcome all problems,” he stated, adding that despite the world crisis the Georgian economy had managed to progress, citing the recent Fitch ratings.

“Today the world is facing a crisis and everyone has been saying that no money will flow into Georgia and the war has destroyed Georgia’s economy. There is an agency called Fitch, and maybe this name does not mean much to you, but investments in Georgia greatly depend on the ratings published by such agencies. The only country which has improved its rating during this summer is Georgia, according to Fitch ratings,” Saakashvili said, adding that “My main promise to you is to unite Georgia. We will have to work a lot to achieve this. This factory in Tserovani is a small brick in the construction of a new, European-style, successful Georgia.”