Prime Minister Garibashvili’s New Year Address

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili congratulated the nation on the New Year.

Below is the official translation of PM Garibashvili’s New Year message as provided by his office.

”My dear fellow citizens, we bid farewell to yet another year and it was not an easy one, bringing a lot of pain, leaving traces of hardship and risks in our memory. Nevertheless, we had success and progress as well and in every direction. We all together, being reasonable and prudent – and what is most important – in peace and stability – passed this year and look ahead to the entry of the new 2023 with hope.

Georgia made a historic step forward this year by making its application for accession to the European Union. The European Council recognized the European Perspective of Georgia. With its unique culture and traditions, Georgia will ultimately become a fully-fledged member of the common European family!

Traditionally, I wish to express my gratitude to all those people, who have been serving our nation and its best interests with their dedication, hard work, selflessness, professionalism and sincere affection.

I wish Happy New Year to our heroic servicemen fighting for the independence, defense, security and freedom of our homeland, as well as our heroic policemen, security servicemen, our officers and fire-fighters. I wish to extend my gratitude to our medical doctors and healthcare professionals at large, our teachers and professors, scientists, representatives of arts and culture, our praiseworthy sportsmen, civil servants. Our country is proud of your dedication and hard work!

I wish Happy New Year to our veterans, our distinguished elderly generation and future ones – children and youth. With overwhelming warmth and affection, I wish Happy New Year to our compatriots living and working overseas – our Diaspora, who are not disconnecting themselves from Georgian roots.

I also wish Happy New Year to Ukrainian brothers and sisters, as well as their children living in Georgia. I wish them a quick end to the war and a peaceful return to their motherland.

I congratulate each member of our great ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, who make a priceless contribution to the progress of our country.

Last year turned out to be one of the most difficult ones in terms of our geopolitical risks. War waged in Ukraine not only changed the lives of a lot of people and their families, but created a completely new geopolitical reality in our country, Europe and the entire world.

By conceptualizing these challenges and risks, we pursued our policies and made decisions, acted and spoke only in the best interests of our people and homeland. In this, we have been guided by the notion of stability, security and better future of our nation.

Concrete result of this prudent and result-oriented policy is peace, stability and unprecedented economic growth, which will enable our people to gain more opportunities of wellbeing and welfare.

Our national interests, security of state and people, its stable future are the core and main basis of the strategy pursued by our government.

Georgian people have always been measuring great wit with due reason. Government of a small, historically much-troubled nation needs to demonstrate due reasoning and prudence in the current widely-risky environment.

Population of Georgia, including our compatriots living in the occupied territories of our country – our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers – increasingly tend to understand that with higher rate of stability, peace, security and development, Georgia is a desired home for them as well, as they will also benefit from all those gains and achievements in a secure manner that is created with the European Perspective of our country and will further more develop in future.

I strongly believe that we will live together again in a strong Georgia. Once again, I wish to congratulate our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers and sisters with the coming New Year!

Freedom-loving and proud Georgian people are not accustomed to surrender or acceptance of the unwanted. With our new vision, ambitious, wide-scale plans and projects, we welcome 2023 year with greater daring in anticipation of a better, more successful, much more abundant and peaceful year.

Advancement of our common homeland, its stability, sound health of its people and their social welfare has been and will remain to be the main aim and goal of our governance. We will altogether overcome all the domestic and external barriers and challenges. We will altogether cope with every difficulty experienced by our people and country, and will continue advancing and empowering our nation.

Dear Friends, our society understands it well what is needed today for the progress and prosperity of our country. We understand the conceptualized needs of our people and we are delivering on the will of our people. We serve only the best interests of Georgia.

Gratitude is one of the precious virtues of the Georgian people, while hope and freedom are part of our identity. That is why, let us bid farewell to 2022 and welcome 2023 with hope, positive mindset and daring.

Once again, let me wish you all and your families a Happy New Year with all my sincerity! Let it bring a nation-wide unity, peace, materializing hopes, greater love, mutual respect, prosperity and success!

God be our protector!”

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