President Mikheil Kavelashvili has awarded the Medal of Honour to five employees of the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) for their outstanding contribution to building the Georgian state and for distinguished service. The awards were made on the nomination of the Prime Minister.

According to the presidential administration press office, the state awards went to:

• Paata Shavishvili, Deputy Executive Director of Geostat
• Irakli Apkhaidze, Deputy Executive Director of Geostat
• Aleksandre Arabuli, Head of the Population Census and Demographic Statistics Department
• Aleksandre Ambokadze, Head of the Information Technology Department
• Mariam Kavelashvili, Head of the International and Public Relations Department

Addressing the award ceremony, the President spoke about the importance of Geostat to the country’s development and to state decision-making.

“A state’s strength begins where it has an accurate, objective and in-depth understanding of its own reality. In today’s information age, the right course for a country’s development rests above all on impartial, carefully processed and accurate data,” Kavelashvili said.

Highlighting the long history of Georgia’s state statistics, the President noted that the institution traces its origins back to 1919, founded during the First Democratic Republic.

Kavelashvili said that over more than a century, methods of collecting and processing data have changed significantly, but the statistics service’s staff’s professional responsibility and dedication to the country have remained unchanged.

The President also spoke about the importance of reliable, accessible statistics for the public. In his view, objective data helps keep citizens informed and reduces the scope for information manipulation.

“Today, Geostat works to international standards, and its data are trusted both in Georgia and abroad. Such trust is earned through long experience, and maintaining it requires daily effort and dedication to the job,” the President said.

According to the Presidential Administration’s press office, Kavelashvili thanked the award recipients for their high professionalism and distinguished service. He said the Medal of Honour was the state’s recognition of their many years of experience and dedication to the country.