PM Gakharia: reopening borders is not possible for now
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, July 6
The Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia talked about the ongoing process and the steps that the government plans to take. According to him, even though the country maintains effective control, reopening borders is not planned at this point. In addition, according to him, the health conditions of all truck drivers are checked throughout their 72-hour stay.
“As for reopening land borders, we cannot not rush things. There are obstacles related to land-border movement for Georgian citizens or cargo shipment. We have set up comfortable conditions for internal and shipping companies. The health conditions of all truck drivers are checked throughout their 72-hour stay. Even though we maintain effective control, reopening land borders is not planned at this point.”
He also talked about the electoral system and the changes adopted by the Parliament.
“The electoral system and the proportional electoral system, especially in a parliamentary republic, is a systemic reform and, of course, the universal consensus of political players and actors would have been a victory for the country. After all, this is not the victory of any political force - what we have achieved here is the victory of the country; what has taken place during the last two weeks is a guarantee of the further democratization and Euro-Atlantic integration of Georgia,” stressed Gakharia.
As he said, this represents an opportunity to change the political elites in the country and to involve young people in politics, along with changing the political culture.
“This was a necessary step for the further democratization and Euro-Atlantic integration of the country, and one that we have taken. When resolving such systemic, fundamental issues, of course, it is desirable for every person and political force to set aside their personal interests and act in accordance with the interests of the country,” the Prime Minister added.
He also said that the parliamentary republic and the proportional electoral system are among the highest characteristics of modern democracy. According to him, the main goal is for Georgia to become a full-fledged member of the European Union and NATO, for which the country will have to carry out many reforms and a great deal of work.
“This is a serious challenge. First, we have to master all this, we have to adapt to all this. Given its Euro-Atlantic vector, Georgia could be engaged in a continuous process of reform for the next 10, 15 years. Reforms must become our normal state of being in order to bring the country's legal and institutional arrangement, level of economic development, democratization process, and media space as close as possible to the European standard in the coming years,” said Gakharia.
