Lado Gurgenidze, the chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Georgia, has been nominated by President Saakashvili for the position of Prime Minister. He is to replace Zurab Nogaideli.

“Lado Gurgenidze will be nominated for the Prime Minister’s position in the next few hours and I hope the new cabinet will win a confidence vote in Parliament in the next few days,” Saakashvili said.

“We need more momentum to our reforms. We have instructed the new prime minister to provide, stage-by-stage, a two-fold increase in pensions, a significant increase in teachers’ salaries, an increase in social assistance, more employment programs, and to deliver the results of our reforms to our citizens,” Saakashvili said.

“We have gained a new prime minister, which means gaining new force, new energy and serious stimulus. Lado Gurgenidze is the most successful and modern Georgian businessman, with western education and extensive work experience in the United States and London, He managed to revive Georgia’s dead banking sector… In recent weeks Lado united the Georgian business community in supporting the Georgian state and I am grateful for this.”

Saakashvili, in the presence of both outgoing Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli and Gurgenidze, made his comments at a news conference. He refused to take questions from the assembled press.

“I'll leave them [Nogaideli and Gurgenidze] and you can ask them questions. I’ve done my job for now and I should now do some other work. Thank you,” Saakashvili said. He then left the room.

“I am also leaving,” Nogaideli said and followed the president. In the absence of any official clarification, there has been speculation that Nogaideli will be nominated as central bank chief.

With both President and out-going Prime Minister having left, Gurgenidze made a short statement:

“This is a great honor for me and I assume this with responsibility.

I believe that the people’s message has been accepted and understood. This message involves making a bigger focus on social programs. And this should [be carried out] in parallel to reforms, which we definitely will implement if Parliament approves my nomination. The focus is also being made on employment, on creating new jobs.

The main task for me, if I am approved by Parliament, is to engage in communication and dialogue and if possible to reach consensus with the people, especially with socially vulnerable people. And also with three important groups on which our economic strength and progress is based…

These three groups are: first of all, the Georgian business community. They have stated clearly their interest in continuing the current economic course, which they deem to be a precondition for further progress, further investments and the further creation of new jobs.

Another group is foreign investors, who are the major source of investments. I have experience of working with them and I hope to further increase the level of communication with this very important group to further continue economic growth.

And of course the third group is the Georgian diaspora, which is also a big source of investments. This is a group consisting of about one million people, according to various estimates. This group is increasingly interested in investing in our economy. They are an integral part of our economy, because they have families, relatives in Georgia. I have much in common with them, having lived abroad for 14 years. I studied and worked, mainly in the United States and England, and also spent some time in Russia, Poland, etc.

This is a brief outline of the major tasks which I think should be the focus of attention.”

Gurgenidze said he was currently unable to say how his cabinet would be constituted. “Consultations will take place this weekend… and I will be able to brief you more about it later,” he said.