Georgian Parliament on Thursday approved Irakli Kobakhidze, the former Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, as the Prime Minister of Georgia, following the resignation of the former PM Irakli Garibashvili.
With 84 votes in favour and 10 against, the legislative body approved the PM and his cabinet, after Kobakhidze presented the new Government programme to the MPs.
In his address, the new PM noted that “one of the most important” tasks of the Georgian Government's foreign policy was to resolve the Russia-Georgia conflict and peacefully restore the country’s territorial integrity.
Kobakhidze hailed the Georgian Dream Government's efforts for ensuring the country’s “democratic transformation” since taking office in 2012, while slamming the previous United National Movement authorities for committing “systemic crimes”.
The official also credited Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former PM, GD founder and current Honorary Chair of the party, as well as the latest former PM Garibashvili, for their roles in the country’s “political, economic, and EU integration progress”.
Garibashvili announced his exit from the position of the head of the Government on January 29, and he was elected as the ruling party’s new Chair on February 1 at the session of the Congress of the GD party, while Kobakhidze was nominated as his replacement.
