Russian businessman becomes Georgian Economy Minister

Russian businessman Kakha Bendukidze has been appointed Georgian Economy Minister. Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania made a corresponding statement at a briefing in the Georgian State Office. The PM stressed that Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili had also nominated Bendukidze to this position. The new minister will start working in three days.

Bendukidze was in charge of restructuring dozens of large enterprises in Russia that were considered hopeless and he managed to improve them, Zhvania stressed. According to the Georgian PM, Bendukidze is not involved in business actively currently. "He is a professor of economics in one of Russia's higher educational establishments; he has a wonderful reputation in Russia as well as in the USA and Europe," Zhvania emphasized.

The Georgian PM also noted that there would be a reshuffle in the government in the near future.