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The News in Brief

Thursday, January 15
Gia Getsadze appointed as First Deputy Justice Minister of Ukraine

“My friend Gia Getsadze has been appointed as Deputy Justice Minister of Ukraine. He was the Dean of the Law Faculty of Ilia State University,” Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

Several days ago, Georgia’s former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Eka Zguladze was appointed as Deputy Interior Minister of Ukraine and Georgia’s former Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, Aleksandre Kvitashvili was appointed as Health Minister of Ukraine. (Frontnews)



I never imagined myself becoming Prime Minister - Irakli Gharibashvili

“I’ve always been interested in politics and I always wanted to serve my country. I never imagined I could become Prime Minister, but I was privileged to have an interesting experience in the private sector where I worked with many talented people, including my predecessor,” – told Irakli Gharibashvili to the publication Leaders in an interview.

According to the Georgian PM, he was privileged to serve as the Internal Affairs Minister when he went into politics.

“I bring a unique perspective to this job. I know what the private sector needs from the government. I know the language of business and I also know what students and younger generations’ need.

While I was studying at Sorbonne, I worked as a waiter and a dishwasher at a restaurant,”- Gharibashvili remarked.

According to him, it’s crucial to be honest and absolutely dedicated to the job when running the country.

“You have to forget your own interests. You should remember one thing: You should serve your country as if you are serving your own family and treat your people with that same level of regard.”- said Gharibashvili.

But the PM also added that it is important to be a good listener as well. I take advice from many people, including many international leaders.

“I wouldn’t be successful if I didn’t have a good team. I work with the team to coordinate our efforts, to think about the future, and to solidify our vision of where we really want to take the country,”- he said. (IPN)



Five-star Rixos Hotel opens in Likani resort

Rixos Hotel, a five-star luxury hotel chain, is ready to welcome its first guests in the health and spa resort area of Likani, in the Borjomi district in southcentral Georgia.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who attended the hotel opening ceremony on January 14, said that Rixos hotel would contribute to the economic development of the region.

Likani is located about 130 km west of the capital city Tbilisi.

The investor companies behind the Rixos Hotel project are Georgia's JSC Partnership Fund's (PF), a state-owned shareholding company, and Kazmunaigaz Service Ltd, who provides oil and gas exploration and production services. The parties announced they had signed-off on a deal to allocate the final fund (18,300 USD) to close the construction works.

In total, more than 40 million USD is being invested in the hotel project. The participation of investor companies are matched equally at 50 percent each.

"The project of opening a Rixos Hotel in Likani was suspended for a while when a new management came in the Partnership Fund,” Garibashvili said.

“The project is implemented by the Partnership Fund together with the Kazakh Company. We managed to open this hotel within a year period of time. As I know all the rooms are already reserved in the hotel. This is because Likani has always been famous as a balneological resort."

"There were employed 600 people on hotel construction works. Now more than 200 people will be employed in newly opened hotel. More than 40 million USD was spent on building Rixos Hotel. And the very important thing is that world famous brand entered Georgia. With such projects we would revive the economy in this region,” Garibashvili said. (Agenda.ge)



Zurab Japaridze names condition in exchange for a pledge to support the government’s initiative

Member of the parliamentary minority Zurab Japaridze has responded to the legislative initiative on the citizens’ participation in the armed groups operating on the territory of a foreign country and says that the United National Movement will support the initiative if the changes do not affect Georgians fighting in Ukraine.

Japaridze said that if the bill applies to the citizens who are fighting against Russia on the territory of Ukraine, it will be perceived as an anti-state move taken by the Government. (Rustavi2)