President visits Borjomi and talks about the development of the region
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, June 17
The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, met with the locals of Borjomi and talked about the potential of development of the region.
According to the President, she visited several regions in the last six months, including a visit to Abastumani, where full reconstruction is underway.
While visiting Abastumani, President met with the local government officials of Samtskhe-Javakheti. The local authorities informed Zourabichvili about the current situation and the major infrastructural projects that are active in the region.
President also visited a new rehabilitation center, which was built with the help of Cartu Group and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia, as the President said, balneotherapy represents a “huge potential for our country.”
“I left Abastumani with a very good impression. Full reconstruction of the city is underway, and it has huge potential, which is shared in the whole region. I am sure the next stage is the development of medical and rehabilitation tourism,” said Zourabichvili
The President expressed readiness to popularize the region abroad. While speaking about the problem of unemployment and the importance of vocational education, Zourabichvili noted that the country suffers from a lack of professionals, which represents a significant problem.
“Today we have a very high level of unemployment in the country; also, I can’t find specialists in many fields which are necessary for our country’s economy. Because of this, many professionals are coming from abroad, and we need to find a balance in this,” she noted.
According to the President, it is the government’s job to plan better and to predict the priorities of the economy.
“We are a tiny nation, and we can be flexible. It is up to the society to develop the most important – personal initiatives, without it nothing happens, and sadly, as of today, people are still waiting for instructions, orders, and advice,” noted Zourabichvili.
As she said, during her visit to regions, she met a lot of people who decided to go back to their homes, saying “I met a lot of successful women, who dared to come back to the regions, because they took the initiative, because the had courage. In many cases, women are braver than men.”
During her visit, the President also had the chance to get acquainted with the rehabilitation process of cultural heritage monuments in Abastumani.
Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory is located in the Adigeni municipality, about 240 km away from Tbilisi. The Observatory was founded in 1932, as the first mountainous astrophysical observatory in the former Soviet Union.
The Municipal Development Fund of Georgia is carrying out two projects in Abastumani. Namely, the rehabilitation of historic houses and the astrophysical observatory (both projects should be completed by autumn of 2019). Fund “Cartu” plans to implement several infrastructural projects in Abastumani. Construction works for the multifunctional rehabilitation center, and tourist complex have already begun.
