On 10 December 2008, Prime Minister of Georgia Grigol Mgaloblishvili presented Grigol Vashadze, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. The ex-Foreign Minister Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili was also present at the meeting.
The Prime Minister underscored the spirit of commitment, in which Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili worked in the most critical times for Georgia. "All the Georgian diplomats under Eka's hand worked non-stop for 24 hours a day to help us overcome the overwhelming challenges and face the huge machine that attacked our country in August," Grigol Mgaloblishvili said and thanked Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili and the employees of the Ministry for their commitment.
The Prime Minister stated that Grigol Vashadze was well known in the Ministry. "Gia is a very experienced diplomat and although he has worked in the Ministry for just 9 months, he easily got the hang of the specifics of the Georgian diplomacy," the Prime Minister commented. The new Minister Grigol Vashadze said that Georgia's foreign policy priorities and the Georgian policy for Russia would remain intact.
Today, the Prime Minister also presented Nikoloz Rurua, the Minister of Culture, Monument Protection and Sports. The new Minister said that he did not intend to launch reforms in the Ministry and at the outset he would learn the main areas of work of the Ministry. The new Minister added that it would be his goal to promote Georgian culture abroad.
The Prime Minister also presented Lasha Zhvania, the Minister of Economic Development of Georgia. The Prime Minister thanked Ekaterine Sharashidze and asked the new Minister to attract more investments.
Press Center of the Chancellery of the Government of Georgia