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“Ramaz Sakvarelidze dislikes the National Movement’s campaign slogan”

Akhali Taoba interviews political analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze, who takes issue with the ruling party’s campaign slogan, but lauds some of the party’s other electoral tactics:

“I think the National Movement’s slogan “Action, not words!” lacks logic, as it is doubtless that a person who wants to build a better state and win trust should do business instead of making long statements, and this does not need any additional emphasizing,” Sakvarelidze stated.

Unlike the campaign slogan, the analyst says bringing new faces into the ruling party is a good, well-calculated step.

“The administration is trying to make its team more acceptable [to the public]. Though, how successful the new team will be is a different question,” Sakvarelidze said.

According to him, the election campaign is focused on people who are undecided on whom to vote for or have a neutral attitude toward current politics.

“Currently the number of people like this is about 30 percent [of the electorate] and this indicator changes depending on mistakes made by political parties in the pre-elections period,” the analyst concluded.



“Eka Sharashidze: Georgia will not to refuse Russian investments!”

Minister of Economic Development Eka Sharashidze said Georgia will continue to welcome Russian investments, according to Rezonansi, despite tense relations with the northern neighbor:

“Russian companies which wish to invest in Georgia should not come across problems due to current relations with Moscow,” Sharashidze said.

The minister named the example of Russian Inter Rao EES, the owner of local electricity distributor Telasi. The Russian company decided to increase its investments in Georgia.

According to Sharashidze, Inter Rao EES is interested in big hydropower plants and building electricity transmission lines in Georgia.

“Further details of the matter will become available after company officials visit Georgia in the near future,” the minister added.



“Tbilisi Wine School founded in Georgia”

Sakartvelos Respublika reports that something describing itself as a wine school has been founded in Georgia:

The official opening ceremony of the school will take place [today] at Two Side restaurant. At the opening ceremony, a diploma-granting ceremony for the first graduates of the School of Sommeliers will also take place.

Tbilisi Wine School was founded by the Association of Sommeliers and M Group, a restaurant management company. The school aims to raise wine specialists’ awareness of Georgian and foreign wines.

The school’s students will be introduced to wine culture, history, winemaking technology, etc. The school was founded at the School of Sommeliers.



“Prime minister met with winemakers in Sagarejo district”

Akhali Taoba reports that Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze and the agriculture minister met with winemakers in Sagarejo district, part of the eastern province of Kakheti:

The businessmen briefed the prime minister on wine exports information. They talked about which foreign markets Georgian wine has reached, in which countries they plan to export production in the future, etc.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, following the Russian trade embargo, most Georgian wine exports went to CIS states and Poland.

They are also planning to export to China and some European countries.

The businessmen expressed their readiness to conduct negotiations with the appropriate experts and officials to return Georgian wine to the Russian market.

“I want to say that similar meetings with the winemakers will be organized frequently,” Gurgenidze said.



“Giorgi still most popular name in Georgia”

Sakartvelos Respublika shocks readers with news that ‘Giorgi’ is still the most common males’ name in Georgia:

On May 6, the Christian Orthodox Church celebrated Saint George’s Day. Linked to this date, the Civil Registry Agency conducted a special research.

The research showed that in the first four months of this year, 655 Giorgis were born in Georgia.

According to the research, Giorgi still tops the list of the boys’ names. After Giorgi come Luka, Nikoloz and Saba.

It’s noteworthy that the name Giorgi has been popular among boys in Georgia for many years.

The Civil Registry Agency says that currently a total of 110 802 Giorgis live in Georgia.