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The News in Brief

Tuesday, June 26
Briefing at Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Alexander Vershbow will arrive in Georgia on a two-day official visit on June 28th, 2012, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Davit Jalaghania at the traditional Monday briefing. He said within the two-day visit, Mr.Vershbow would travel to Batumi to attend the NATO Defense and Security Conference. Meetings with Georgia`s senior authorities and other politicians are also on the agenda.

Davit Jalaghania also commented on the upcoming Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) conference, which was founded twenty-years ago. The conference will be held in Turkey under the chairmanship of Turkey and Serbia and the Georgian delegation will be chaired by President Saakashvili. "Georgia is the founding country of this organization and the goals and the motives of its formation are to provide stability and peaceful development to the Black Sea countries, facilitate their successful co-existence, development of trade and economic relations and the formation of political cooperation," Davit Jalaghania said.
(Rustavi 2)



Woman dies accidentally in Dariali Gorge

A 28 year-old woman died accidentally during an excursion to Dariali Gorge recently. She was touring the region together with friends and fell in the river Khda while attempting to take a photo. The flow of river was so strong that her friends could not save the woman. The river swept her body into Russia territory. Currently, the body of the woman being held in morgue in Vladikavkaz and will be transferred to Georgia within the week.
(Rustavi 2)



Mikheil Saakashvili “reprimanded” on Facebook for speaking about electricity and fountains

The President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakshvili, visited the Batumi Marine Academy on Sailors’ Day. The president congratulated the sailors on the occasion and said that the sailors are an important part of Georgian society.

“18,000 Georgians across the world’s oceans... this is a heavy responsibility, full of dangers, as our sailors freed from Somali will tell you this. But at the same time, it's very romantic, interesting, intellectual and also a labor-consuming profession," the President said.

He said that Georgia has a tradition of having very good captains. Saakashvili said that he read in Facebook about one woman who reprimanded him for speaking about fountains and problem of electricity in the 21st century.

“In our era, this is not only electricity and water, it is new towns. Batumi is an incredibly different town from what it had been. Never was Batumi built at rates it the rate it is being built now. It is only the beginning; Batumi will increase twice in the coming three-years. It will be a town of a minimum of 300,000 people, one of the most magnificent places in the world,” the President said.

Mikheil Saakashvili said that everything happening in Batumi made him proud. He stated that Poti will be developed soon and new factories will be built. The president said that Poti will be the main gateway of Georgia. He says that a lot of Georgian sailors are refugees from Abkhazia, and other places should be developed until the occupiers leave the territory. “That’s why the idea of Lazika appeared– and who laughed at this? They did the same about Anaklia two-years ago. I invite you all - go and see Anaklia... see how it is developing, how it resembles a world-class resort. Lazika must be an economic centre. Georgia’s parliament adopted changes and I’m sure the first preparatory work has started on a large-scale basis, the construction will start in the coming months”, Mikheil Saakashvili said.
(IPN)



President Saakashvili visits, inspects construction site in resort town

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili spoke about the significance and potential of the resort town of Bakhmaro in the Guria region in western Georgia. He inspected the ongoing construction work on a medical center to be opened in the town soon.

The project funded from the state budget envisages the construction of a medical center and a 15-room hotel in accordance with contemporary standards.

The project also intends to build a movie theatre with the capacity to hold 100 people, a supermarket, a drug-store and an outpatient clinic.

A central highway connecting Chokhatauri and Bakhmaro is planned to be constructed and the roads inside the town are to be refurbished.

The president said in his speech at the meeting with locals, that the whole region has got great potential in terms of developing tourism, as well as employing locals.
(Rustavi 2)



Parliament Closes Spring Session Next Week

The parliament of Georgia will close its spring session next week. The spring session is closed on the last Friday of June according to regulations. The next week is a committee week, though it is already known that on the last Friday of June, a special sitting of parliament will be held.

After the spring session closes, parliament will have to continue work. Parliament will have to carry out the legislative changes regarding the activation of the Must carry regulations before the elections.
(IPN)