It is with enormous reverence that I would like to affirm my respect for our heroic fighters, our invincible wounded and injured service members. I bow down before your heroism. Once again, I express gratitude on behalf of the Government for the blood shed by you, for your courage, selfless determination, self-sacrifice, and heroism, Georgian Prime Minister stated in his speech at Maro Makashvili Rehabilitation Center, at the opening event of the week celebrating Day of Wounded and Injured Service Members.

According to Head of Government, Georgia and the Georgian army, our troops, have done their best, and all service members without exception have spared no effort, and we have fulfilled our duties with honor in every mission, be it the mission in Iraq, Afghanistan, or our mission in the Central African Republic.

“Mister Defense Minister, Mister Chief of the Defense Forces, generals, officers, sergeants, honorable guests, I would like to welcome all of you and thank you for being with us.

It is with enormous reverence that I would like to affirm my respect for our heroic fighters, our invincible wounded and injured service members. I bow down before your heroism. Once again, I express gratitude on behalf of the Government for the blood shed by you, for your courage, selfless determination, self-sacrifice, and heroism. Our Government is indebted to you. Once again, I would like to thank all of you. We all, both the Government and all of society, are obligated to express our gratitude to you through actual deeds. I also want to point out that we, our Ministry and our Government, have been trying over the recent period to express our attitude toward you through actual deeds. You know that we established Day of Wounded and Injured Service Members just for you, so that we may once again celebrate symbolically, come together, and express our gratitude to you. I also want to express gratitude and thank you for your unbreakable spirit-despite difficulties, you never cease fighting and working. It is with pride that I want to underline your successes in various athletic competitions. Of course, it makes us proud, and it reaffirms that your spirit, the Georgian spirit, is unbreakable. I also want to point out with gratitude and greet our partners, notably the United States of America. We have accomplished a lot together. And this excellent center is also a result of our joint work. An exemplary rehabilitation center was established in the region as a result of assistance from our American friends, also with our engagement. However, for us it is a symbolic expression, of course. You deserve all the best.

It is also with pride that I want to emphasize and remind our public once again, as well as our international partners, that Georgia and the Georgian army, our troops, have done their best, and all service members without exception have spared no effort, and we have fulfilled our duties with honor in every mission, be it the mission in Iraq, Afghanistan, or our mission in the Central African Republic. We have been represented everywhere with honor and our heroism, determination, and with our unbreakable spirit we have demonstrated what it means to be a loyal and worthy partner. We have proved our honorable partnership and our loyalty to our partners, our American friends, our NATO member states, and we have been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder and protecting international peace, fighting against terrorism. In this fight, our heroic troops, our fighters, have paid the ultimate price, their lives. Thirty-two heroes have laid their lives in this mission. Once again, I bow down to pay homage to their memory. Hundreds of our heroic soldiers, our brothers, have sacrificed the most precious, their health.

Thus, I would like to reiterate that Georgia has paid it dues to everyone, my brothers and my friends. We have always acted honorably, and we continue to do so. We are proudly representing our proud, freedom-loving people, our nation, and our state. This is why I would like to reaffirm our hope that our merit and your merit, my brothers, will be duly appreciated. Every success achieved by our country belongs to you, to our army, to our people and country in general. Of course, our Government continues fighting in this direction, and we are called and motivated to continue the process of our army’s transformation together with our partners, the process of our army’s empowerment. Of course, it is with deep appreciation that we emphasize our American partners’ and NATO member states’ contributions to and merits in the transformation and training of our army. Once again, I would like to reaffirm that we are grateful, of course. I want to thank our invincible wounded and injured troops, our heroic soldiers. Thank you for everything”, - said Irakli Garibashvili.

Day of Wounded and Injured Service Members is celebrated on June 30. The week celebrating Day of Wounded and Injured Service Members officially opened at Maro Makashvili Rehabilitation Center. The solders attending the event were addressed by Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, who spoke about the contributions of wounded and injured fighters to the country.

The week of the events honoring wounded service members opened with archery and cycling exhibition competitions in the territory of the rehabilitation center.

Within the scope of the week, it is planned to hold eleven individual and two team sports competitions. Wounded service members will try their physical abilities in basketball, running over various distances, shooting sports, table tennis, volleyball, and various parasports. As part of the events, an open-door day will be held for wounded service members and their families.

An exhibition of military technology and an entertainment program for children are also planned.