for improving the quality of primary, secondary, professional and higher education?

1. Vision: As Georgia s president, what do you think will be your biggest objective? The unification of Georgia, ensuring national security, maintaining the right foreign policy and finding an adequate place for Georgia in the world. In addition to this, the current system of order and governance has to be changed substantially to prevent leaderism and the rise of authoritarianism. The main concern of the state should be its citizen! 2. Education: What is your vision on education policy? What kind of policy do you support for improving the quality of primary, secondary, professional and higher education? Our reform of the education system aims at improving the quality of higher education, including professional education, supporting the establishment of a knowledge-based professional society and creating favorable conditions for the development of science. In terms of general education, my goal is to ensure that every citizen has access to basic education. Support of education is of crucial importance, since it helps to form the personalities of the next generation. Accordingly, schools and educational institutions in general should not be oriented solely toward imparting knowledge; they should also help to develop students into good citizens. Family plays an important role in the achievement of this goal. Public institutions must conduct their activities in accordance with public interest. Since society is the unity of families, the education system should reflect the traditional values of these families. This will guarantee the protection of future generations from socially unacceptable forms of behavior. Providing high-quality, state-of-the-art higher education is one of the preconditions for the scientific and economic development of Georgia. All levels of the education system should meet international standards and be based on Georgian national values. We have to understand that it is more expensive for the state to support an uneducated individual than an educated and employed citizen. 3. Taxation: In your opinion, what kind of tax system is reasonable for Georgia and according to which principle should income tax be determined? Cancel VAT on customs; Reduce income tax to 15 per cent; Annul financial police ; Restrict liability on legal offences to financial fines only; Establish a special court for tax disputes; Decrease deadlines of appeal considerations for business owners. 1

4. Economy: What is your vision to accelerate economic growth? Which specific areas fall into your priorities and what kinds of policies would you propose to the parliament and the government of Georgia? Georgian economy is built on liberalism, which is linked with the country s economic activities, namely, with the growth of the role of private sector. The priorities for Georgia are: improvement of budgetary systems, further development of tax administration, introduction of flexible monetary and loan policy, overcoming the recent economic crisis and support of further economic growth. For the development of the Georgian economy, the country will focus on the development of the agricultural sector by state investments, support of the export of goods and the search for new markets, attracting private investments and struggling against counterfeit. State investments will be made in the following areas: industry infrastructure (including industries producing export goods), introduction of new technologies and equipment, setting up of irrigation and drainage systems, development of communications, support of the production of quality goods, and evaluation of soil quality and composition. A comprehensive and detailed informational database on available agricultural resources will be created for private investments. A land market will be established and developed. The state will take part into advertising Georgian goods on international markets. Georgia will struggle against counterfeit both internally and, if required, outside the country. 5. Employment: What policies do you think the government should implement to address unemployment? The main concern of the state is its citizen, meaning that the government should facilitate the formation of a middle class and the development of small and medium businesses and should simplify the access of citizens to financial resources through legislative and systemic changes. The government should also create an environment that does not contain any threats for investments and at the same time provides long-term forecast of business and property security, which, in turn, requires the development of the right sort of legislative framework. 6. Health Care: What kind of policies and concrete decisions would you support in order to increase access to and quality of health care? Georgia requires a realistic and public-oriented social and healthcare policy that will ensure that poverty is eliminated and citizens can age with dignity. The state should provide social security to people living below the poverty line. Healthcare policy should be based upon the following: equal form of ownership and funding and state support. Long-term planning of healthcare requires reliable data concerning the health of the population and accurate assessment of the performance of the healthcare system. 2

The priority of health care is to provide state medical insurance (basic coverage) to the population living below the poverty line. The top priority for the healthcare system of Georgia is investment in health infrastructure. The above-mentioned social and healthcare policy is a stable guarantor of a sound healthcare system. 7. Social security: What policy do you support regarding the improvement of social security net? The key concern of the state is the human being. The state must: Review the minimum wage; Change the rules for calculating the minimum wage; Set the retirement allowance to match the minimum wage; Develop a targeted social assistance system. 8. Local self-governance: In your opinion, how the local self-governance should be organized in Georgia? Self-governance needs to be de-centralized, which means local control of property and finances under the supervision of the central administration. 9. Territorial integrity: What kind of policy would you support to restore territorial integrity and build trust amongst people? We reject the idea of using force to solve conflicts. We want to unify and live with Abkhazian and Ossetian people. We have to find a common language with Abkhazian and Ossetian people Georgia, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia, cannot exist without Abkhazian and Ossetian people; on the other hand, Abkhazia and South Ossetia cannot survive without Georgia We need to create decent conditions for Georgians and Abkhazians and Georgians and Ossetians to live together. The first step to implement this plan is to demilitarize Akhalgori, Gali and Kodori Gorge: Safe return of refugees Only international police forces should be able to enforce control in the area Implementation of joint economic projects under an international umbrella A policy of attraction should become the priority for Georgia. The democratic arrangement of the Georgian state, its model and speed of economic development, equal and fair society, and equally developed regions should create a very attractive western-style environment. 3

Russia, the USA, and Europe represent a natural triangle that Georgia cannot and should not avoid. Georgia is and always will be the neighbor to Russia, partner to US and part of Europe. Through wellbalanced policy, Georgia has the capacity to become key player of this triangle, i.e., not the object in the others game but the author of its own foreign policy. Georgia strives to establish good neighbor relations with Russia and takes the national interests of the two countries into consideration. Georgia welcomes Russia getting closer to Europe and its reset policy with the USA. Georgia will respect Russia s interests in the North and the South Caucasus. 10. Sexual minority rights: What do you think on protection of sexual minority rights and their better integration in socio-political life? The state should care for its citizens, including the rights of its sexual minorities and should facilitate their integration into political and social life. 11. Women s participation in political life: Please, describe your position (if any) on increasing women s participation in political life. Raise public awareness on the issue of gender equality Support from the leaders of the government for increasing the participation of women in politics Representation of women in the legislative and executive branches Recognition by the parties of gender imbalance in their decision-making bodies and the willingness to improve this situation Support of public discussions on gender issue The state needs to launch an initiative to encourage political parties to increase gender balance in their party lists Women party organizations need to support involvement of women in political activities 12. Ethnic minority rights: Which policies would you carry out/support to ascertain a fuller participation and integration of ethnic minorities in Georgia s socio-political life? In terms of integration of ethnic minorities, Georgia will use all available efforts to facilitate integration and involvement of Georgian citizens, especially those of non-georgian ethnic origin, in the development of the country. The state will ensure provision of Georgian language training to them, as well as improvement of their education and maintenance of their identity, language, culture and religion. 4

13. Environment protection/ecology: Please, present your policy proposals (if any) aiming at creating a healthy and safe environment. Georgia will pay special attention to the prevention of natural disasters, emergencies, and large-scale industry incidents. To achieve this goal the country will launch special programs for forecasting, prevention, and crisis management. Georgia will ensure cleansing its territory of radioactive missile fuel and hazardous chemicals. It will provide control over air pollution sources, take measures towards food security, and bring Georgian legislation in harmony with European and UN standards. The preservation of the integrity of human and natural values should be the primary goal, not only for the Georgian people, but for the whole world. Since Georgia does not have a great potential for developing non-traditional and renewable energy capabilities, it is of vital importance to look for alternative energy resources and consider their application and dissemination. So far, the prospects for solar and wind energy in Georgia have been only poorly explored. Waste processing and the production of bio gas is a relatively new practice in Georgia. Solar panels represent one of the important sources of energy. These are electronic devices that transform electro-magnetic radiation of the sun into power and provide electric current. 14. Strategic partnership: With which county/or alliance of countries will you attempt to achieve a strategic, including military-strategic partnerships? What steps will you take in this regard? Well-balanced policy is one of the key priorities of foreign strategy. It aims to create favorable international conditions for Georgia. For this purpose, Georgia should maintain cooperation with the international community both in bilateral and multilateral formats. Georgia is strengthening its bilateral strategic partnership with the USA and the US support towards the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia is highly appreciated. Georgia enjoys US support in terms of implementation of democratic reforms, development of a market economy and establishment of civil society. Georgia strives to establish good neighbor relations with Russia and takes the national interests of the two countries into consideration. Georgia welcomes Russia getting closer to Europe and its reset policy with the USA. Georgia will respect Russia s interests in the North and the South Caucasus. Georgia will launch dialogue with Russia on strengthening economic cooperation. Georgia shares common European values and believes that its own national values constitute part of European values. Georgia welcomes the policy of the EU that is aimed at increased involvement and cooperation with Russia. Georgia s alignment with the EU and EU s alignment with Russia will positively affect the relationship between Russia and Georgia. 5

This triangle of foreign policy will allow regional cooperation for ensuring national security and will involve every nation of the region, including Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia, Iran and Georgia. Georgia s geo-strategic role in the establishment of a regional security system will be crucial. Against this background, Georgia and the above named countries of the region will have better grounds for successful cooperation through multilateral cooperation forums such as UN, OSCE and Council of Europe. 15. Regional cooperation: What would be your foreign policy towards the South Caucasus and Black Sea regions? Even the West believes that Georgia will always be dependent on Russia in many aspects and it cannot do anything but to maintain constructive cooperation with its powerful neighbor. Nowadays Georgia is considered to be a part of the Great Near East as well as a key region of terrorist threat. Georgia gained considerable importance during Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns. Existence of separatist regions in Georgia is of great concern for western countries since they see these regions as a potential safe haven for terrorism. These factors played a crucial role in making the non-recognition policy of separatist regions a priority for the West. Georgia always clashes with Russia s geostrategic interests. Trans-Caucasia is closely tied with the Northern Caucasus, which is a part of the Russian Federation. The independence of the South Caucasus region creates extra problems for Russia s security. On the other hand, Russia continues its international activities in Cold War mode. For a long time now, the relationship between Russia and Georgia has been hindered by mistrust that has deepened on both sides. Relations were suspended following the events in August 2008 that dramatically increased security risks for Georgia. Remaining in this condition for a long time will lead the country to irreparable harm. Will Georgia and Russia be able to establish a new relationship? The answer to this question largely depends on Georgia. The country has to take into consideration Russia s national interests while standing for its own interests at the same time. The Caucasus region still offers opportunities for constructive developments in the relationship between Russia and Georgia, but they can only be achieved if Georgia becomes fully aware of its responsibilities in terms of eliminating internal vulnerabilities. 16. Defense policy: How would you organize the defense system? For the purposes of improving Georgia s defense policy and security system and implementing successful security policy and sound civil-military relations, we consider the implementation of following activities to be of priority: Increasing civil control over military and security systems and improvement of the quality of democracy 6

Strengthening the authority of the so-called Trust Group in the Parliament and granting the group legal rights to monitor military and security systems Establishing public monitoring councils at law enforcement institutions that will serve as a necessary format for the development of civil-military relations Unconditionally separating the Ministry of Defense and Joint Staff; establishing the Ministry of Defense as a fully civilian structure and creating the Joint Staff Command on the basis of existing Joint Staff after the restructuring of the armed forms Consolidating the inspector general s services into one single unit and bringing it under the Parliament Comprehensively reorganizing the National Security Council and defining its roles and responsibilities Removing security units from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and replacing them with a federal bureau of investigation (or state department of counter-intelligence) and bringing it under the command of the supreme commander-in-chief Establishing a committee of the heads of law enforcement agencies under the National Security Council. The main function of this committee will be to ensure comprehensive coordination of these agencies Defining the functions of law enforcement and operational support of the federal bureau of investigation (or counter-intelligence department) and introducing appropriate changes in legislation concerning operational and search activities Establishing an anti-terrorism and anti-corruption operational service under the National Security Council Placing the State Procurement Department under Parliament s control. Implementation of the above will enable the development of a national security policy that would provide relevant response to threats, risks, and challenges while protecting the country from destructive internal activities and forceful external interventions. 17. Security Policy: How do you see the fundamental principles/architecture of Georgian national security? The formation of a national security policy and security system should be directly linked with the national interest and values that largely define challenges and threats. Only a targeted security policy that is based on national interests and values is capable of producing good results. By comprehensively analyzing all components of the security environment of Georgia, the country can develop a national security policy that will ensure that interests built on national values are upheld and thus provide the right response to the challenges and threats the country faces. 7

A national value in Georgia is to ensure the security of Georgian citizens within the territory that is recognized by the international community. To ensure this security, Georgia is guided by provisions of international law. Georgia strives to create a peaceful and cooperative environment with its neighbors and to implement a successful and well-balanced foreign policy with them based upon bilateral agreements and framework treaties. The goal of Georgia is to establish a security system that will be favorable for transforming the country into a democracy characterized by the rule of law. In this regard, Israel s security system and similar models are acceptable for Georgia (taking into consideration the similarity of threats, challenges, and security environment). 18. Abortion: In your opinion, should abortion be banned or not? Why? It is necessary to improve the sexual education of civil society; that will reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies. Abortion should be allowed and be carried out only by doctor s recommendation in the event the mother s health or life is threatened. Increasing birth rates and a changing demography are key challenges for the country. 19. Taxation and credit: Should commercial banks be able to confiscate real estate (dwelling) property if the person is unable to repay the credit? Why? Creditors should definitely have the right to sell mortgaged property if loans are not repaid; otherwise, the risk of having loans will be too high. 20. Agricultural land: Shall foreign citizens be allowed or not to purchase agricultural land in Georgia? I strongly oppose the idea of foreign nationals buying agricultural land in Georgia. The level of life and the income of citizens are so low in Georgia that allowing such purchases would lead to the occupation of Georgia by citizens from more financially powerful countries. 8