Georgian Prime Minister considers first 100 days of office a success

Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili has summed up the first 100 days of the government's work following the victory of his party in the elections in October.

The main achievement of the new government is restoration of justice, Ivanishvili said at a briefing on Tuesday.

"We have released 190 political prisoners from jails, more than 3500 people were amnestied and also left prisons," he said.
Ivanishvili also highlighted the success of the policy of reducing prices.

"We were able to provide a reduction in electricity tariffs by 21 per cent and reduced the price for fuel by 10 per cent. Gas prices will also decrease by 10 per cent in February. We are going to reduce them even further. We also achieved a significant reduction in the prices of pharmaceutical products from 30 to 50 per cent, "he said.

The Prime Minister listed improvement of the social situation by adoption of a better budget as being a merit of the government.
He said by cutting 'unreasonable' spending of the former government, the cost of healthcare was increased to 633 million lari ($1=1.66 lari) and insurance - 505 million lari. From February 1, all Georgian citizens will be provided with a minimum package and from June 1 with a basic package, "he said.

Referring to foreign policy, Ivanishvili said that he pursues the right policy and cannot understand the criticism of opponents.
"We are committed to foreign policy towards the EU and NATO and also started improving relations with Russia," he said.

The Prime Minister called the visit of a Georgian delegation to Russia a breakthrough and mentioned the "successful talks" on the return of Georgian products to the Russian market.

"These negotiations showed that the former Georgian authorities alone blocked entry of Georgian products to the Russian market," he said.

Ivanishvili stressed that the opening of the Russian market will develop agriculture.

"We have received very positive responses from our largest neighbour and hope to establish friendly relations with Russia and restore our territorial integrity," he said.

He also said the new government managed to establish good relations with the U.S.