Gordon Stein, CFO of CleanTech Lithium, explains why CTL acquired the 23 Laguna Verde licenses. Watch the video here.
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Thanks Looed. It is looking like things are starting to look up.
Pt.7 (and final part)
Nodar Kharshiladze (Expert) - In short, what we have planned now is that we will be joined by public organizations, businesses, political circles in the future, and we will definitely have an online conference with our American colleagues, including senators and congressmen who join this initiative to make communication right and our goal is not to harm Georgia. I don’t care about “Georgian Dream” because their communication with Americans crossed every line. In order not to harm our country and its interests, internal discussions will be held in order to be planned correctly, because when we have new government we will be able to attract more investment, create more jobs and increase the well-being of every citizen of Georgia, including Mr. Zaza`s as a citizen of Georgia. That is the ultimate goal. It is unfortunate that all of this is being pursued for personal gain today, but these activities, especially with the people who are writing these letters, will help us. We tell them firmly that these parasites are in the minority. The Georgian people support the United States, the American investment, and we must inform our partners about this. Thanks
https://www.facebook.com/GSAC.GE/videos/270839824170062/
Pt.6
Giorgi Vashadze (contd) - Therefore, it is time to come to our senses. Another issue that I would like to emphasize is that our government goes to these arbitrators and loses these arbitrations as if they are going to pay from there own pockets the obligations or compensation for arbitration services. This is also what we have to pay. This is also money to be paid from our budget. How many millions were spent, for example, in a dispute with Frontera, which is covered I farce, as if they have won the dispute. However, in most of the points, we have studied this issue, "Frontera" won, which I am not happy to tell you directly, as a citizen of Georgia, because this damage has to be paid from our budget. And I'm here to agree with Frontera at some point, and to move away from these damages to economic co-operation, investment co-operation, and not to pay from our budget on created problem for such a large company. The same is true of the port of Anaklia. Same goes with Anaklia port. If the same goes on, Iconia Capital will go, complaining about these issues. Who is harmed? We are harmed by the fact that all this is being paid from the budget. Therefore, we must pay special attention to this and I will repeat three main issues: national security, economic development and energy independence. These are the three components of these investments and the issues we all need to address.
Zaza - I would like to add one more thing. Thank you, Mr. George, for your comment. 1 detail - I will say what Georgia has done before, and I am the head of "Frontera" at the moment, but I live here, I am a citizen of this country and, of course, all this has such a big impact on my personal life as a Georgian living in this country. It is also very important in this regard. Now that's what Mr. George said. The Georgian government has paid GEL 42 million for this arbitration service, in an attempt to limit the rights of the investor company in the country. They wasted such amount of money and by the way, this 42 million GEL includes my money as well. Instead of directing this money to creation of more value for the country, more jobs, all of this is going wrong. That is why all our joint efforts should be directed to change these circumstances, as Mr. Nodar pointed out, and it will definitely bring good results in terms of work, investment, unemployment, and so on. thank you very much.
Pt.5
Seth Char (contd) - We only hire Georgian employees and contractors. I am the only foreigner in Iconia Capital LLC in Tbilisi as the CEO. And, the lowest paid person in our company receives the double the average national salary. That`s the lowest paid person. So, we pay good salaries for good people. Alright? But all of that cannot have the chance to continue if we are continually under attack again by corrupt elements that are completely out of control and that the authorities seem to have very little power over. So, thats what I have to say about that.
Speaker 4
Giorgi Vashadze - I will say a few more words by the end. By the way, the statement of the Georgian Ambassador to the United States was very interesting, that more than half of them do not know what they signed and this was immediately followed by a very strong reaction from the United States. So we can't build a state. I want to tell this to the Georgian society. We will never be able to put the country back on its feet, and during our 29 years of independence we have not really had such a precedent that the country has been in such a problematic and deadlocked situation. I would also like to say that our Western partners will do their best for Georgia to continue on its own path of development. The notion of a strategic partner for America, the notion of an associate member for the EU are not just words. It is the specific content and schedule with which we act and collaborate with them. Therefore, they will, of course, do their best to support Georgian democracy so that we can continue to develop normally. But, I want to tell every citizen that everything is still in our hands. Neither America nor Europe will be able to make electoral decisions for us or change the government or do anything else in the country. This is our decision and we must do it. This is our sovereign choice. And, unfortunately, I want to say that after 29 years, we are again faced with this great choice - the West or the North? EU or Russia? NATO and the United States or any development in the Eurasian Union in some incomprehensible direction? Here, we are faced with this choice again, and these months, and the subsequent period, are crucial in this direction. Either developed Georgia (a leading country in the world) or slow-paced Georgia, a poor country ruled by oligarchic clans. We are constantly impoverished, or the country is being depopulated. Retirees will be left alone, children at some point. The labor force has already been reduced by 100,000 in the last 3-4 years alone. People have gone to the EU and we will be in the worst situation.
Pt.4
Zaza - Thank you very much. I would like to add a few more details, to what I said a few minutes ago. In addition, a huge investment has been made and a big step has been taken towards Georgia's energy independence, which means that the country's natural gas or crude oil potential will fully meet the country's demand for energy in the future. In addition, it means that along with the economic strength of the country, not only economic but also political strength will increase. You can see what kind of environment we are in and our neighbors are using energy against us as a mechanism and a weapon to achieve various political goals. So that in both sides, economically and politically, it is very profitable and it is necessary for Georgia to be economically and energetically independent. It is in this regard that our work is underway and we have excellent results. It is because of these remarkable results that we are in a situation where our efforts against us have been particularly intensified by our government. We are two companies presented here, but there are some other American companies that have similar problems and I would like to draw your attention to one thing - even yesterday, the Minister of Economy continued and spread false information that 300 American companies are operating in Georgia, which is not true. A company that has an office in the United States and invests in Georgia probably does not exceed 10. They are trying to mislead the public with these means. With such false information, they are trying to mislead the administration and the Congress in Washington, as if our strategic relationship between America and Georgia is developing perfectly. All this must end and everything must be called by its name, because it is better to see the picture that Georgia is facing today, the companies working in Georgia, in order to create a better future by working together. Thank you very much
Seth Char -So, as mentioned before, the Georgian government has to take care of issues of corruption and rogue judges. These two issues are ongoing and have been excessively applied to many investors, including ourselves. Our company have come to Georgia where no political aspirations… In fact, the only reason I am here speaking, is to protect our investors back home and make sure that we can finish the investments we have started in Georgia. We are not just about to give up and walk away and lose the huge amount of money. Because some of our investors, have invested part of their life savings in Georgia and that is amount of faith that my people have had in the country of Georgia. Investing part or large amount of their savings into Georgia to create Georgian jobs, to create original high quality projects, as I have mentioned before, 100% of our workforce is Georgian.
Pt.3
Giorgi Vashadze (contd) - The case of Iconia Capital is a very interesting case, when the real estate market, which again and again has a monopoly in their hands, they want powerful ... We must confront all forces together. My team and I, along with other opposition colleagues, will do our best to make Georgia a paradise for Western investment. Because this is the way revive the country's economy fast ...
Nodar Kharshiladze (Expert) - Recently, the government launched a campaign that "how well everything is with America", there were several meetings. There were also several articles that they met with the leadership of "Frontera", sorted out the topics, informed Washington, met with the ambassador and had a wonderful meeting, and then we find out that it is the lie. Here is director of “Frontera” claiming that nobody held a meeting with him. We also asked this question in America and situation even worse there ... we were talked about sanctions directly from there. This also shows that we are not only doing badly, this government does not realize that we are doing badly and is lying and trying to get out of the situation with lies. At the same time, there are topics about which they are trying to spread the words in Washington through lobbyists, which is a great shame. Georgia often had lobbyists only to help us organize and not to communicate. We are not a country that needs lobbyists in its relations with Washington. They communicate with us perfectly, but Bidzina Ivanishvili needs all this. This is due to his personal lobbying, primarily because he is afraid of sanctions and is in fear, especially given the recent period. And, therefore, these lies have covered everything we want to focus on. Nothing good is happening with American capital. On the contrary, the situation is getting worse. This is just another cascade of lies that have a very short lifespan and will be found out very soon. We saw this, unfortunately, after the statement of our ambassador, when the American Congressman came out directly and said on Twitter that "this is a lie." This is a very shameful and very unprofitable position for Georgia. Again, the situation of the Georgian Dream with the Americans is less worrying for us, unlike the image of the country, which is also suffering, unfortunately. Here we are united. That our image is not damaged and Georgia is not deprived of anything. Therefore, our goal is to work as hard as we can to make it all better. First of all, to bring in more capital, and secondly, to call everything by its own name.
Pt.2
Seth Char - Thank you, Zaza. Gamarjoba. Mu name is Seth Char and I am CEO of Iconia Capital LLC. We are 100% American owned financed real estate developer. And we are from sunny state of Hawaii. Now over the past 5 years, has been under the constant threat and attack by rogue elements in the Georgian government and in the Georgian court system. So, it is our hope today that we are having an opportunity to share our story to identify the parties involved against us and make a call to Georgian authorities that they have an obligation under both local laws and international laws to protect American investors and their businesses in this country. It is my hope that with coordination with authorities in Georgia that we will be able to develop Georgia into the shiny star and positive example for the world. And, glowing example of US-Georgian partnership with regards to teen care of American investors of the country.
Speaker 4
Giorgi Vashadze (Opposition Leader) - Hello. Today we are talking about a very important issue. Georgia has made its geopolitical choice to integrate into the West since independence. EU integration, NATO integration means opening Georgia to American and Western investment. First of all, this is the starting point for our national security and very important. Second, it is important for economic development. To bring in the greatest resources in the country to create jobs, to be energy independent. And third, in this particular case, it is a path to energy independence. And, we need a government that does not hinder Western investment, but rather helps, encourages and brings in Western investment from the United States and the European Union. But, we are facing a sad reality, here are the representatives of two companies here and Western investments have a problem, and everything is open for Russian investments. Western capital has limitations in the country. We argue with them in international arbitration, Russian capital has everything open. The Gazprom agreement, which was extended and signed in the near future, indicates that, unfortunately, the letters from the United States are based on specific evidence. The Georgian government has decided to close our country to Western investment. I want to tell every citizen - this means, first of all, the destruction of the national security of the country, it means constant hunger, doom for Georgia's permanent problems, and it means bringing Georgia into the Russian orbit. Therefore, we must all unite to protect our national interests, and our national interests today include more American, more European, more Western investment, especially in the face of this dire economic situation. In addition to these two companies, we are aware of the Anaklia Port issue and we know a number of topics where businessmen are still unable to speak out on these issues.
Pt.1 (This first part is identical to #11)
Journalist 1- A briefing is being organized by the Georgian Strategic Center and we are offering it live
Nodar Kharshiladze (Expert) - Hello everyone. Today we gathered representatives of public organizations, businesses and political circles. Our goal is to launch a new campaign on US-Georgia relations. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, our relations have never been at such a low point, when, practically every week, the critical letters of our government come from the United States, which is very shameful for Georgia. Here is a very famous letter from Ted Cruz, who personally blames Bidzina Ivanishvili. There are many different reasons for this, including political. But one of the main reasons is also the oppression of American business in Georgia, the oppression of American capital, which is very bad and very unfortunate and which causes 2 problems. One is the political dimension, which is politically damaging to Georgia and hurts our image in the United States. And, secondly, there is, of course, economic damage, which prevents the entry of American capital, which is so necessary in times of economic hardship, and the well-being of Georgian citizens. I ask my friends and colleagues to expand these topics. Please, Mr. Zaza.
Zaza - Thank you very much. I am Zaza Mamulaishvili, President and Chief Executive Officer of “Frontera Resources”. Our company has been working in Georgia for 23 years. Today it is the largest American investor in the country. It has created tremendous value for Georgia as a result of our work, but we face incredible resistance from the Georgian government because of the discriminatory attitude towards our and American businesses. Due to this deteriorating investment environment, we express our concern and are very grateful to NGOs, Mr. Giorgi Vashadze, and others who have grasped the importance of this issue and will work with us to create better conditions for American companies and American investment in the country, especially in the conditions of such a ruined economy. Now I would like to give a word to my colleague. Please.