This weekend on the BLOOMBERG TELEVISION(R) program "For the Record," Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili and Bloomberg's Ryan Chilcote tour Georgia and discuss the country's economic liberalization, plans to improve infrastructure and the current political climate. The exclusive in-depth interview will air across the UK, Middle East, and Eastern and Western Europe on Saturday, September 1 at 11:30 GMT with repeats throughout the weekend.


In 2006, the World Bank dubbed Georgia under President Saakashvili 'the number one economic reformer in the world,' ranking the nation as 37th in its Ease of Doing Business Survey, up from 112th a year earlier. Under Saakashvili, Georgia has lowered export duties and liberalized manufacturing regulations to attract foreign direct investors to the region and counter the effects of the Russian Federation's undeclared trade embargo on Georgian goods since 2006. "Georgia will hopefully get to the top 20 places in the world ... Top 20 ... it's a very elite club," Saakashvili tells Bloomberg.


During the interview Saakashvili comments upon strained relations with Russia, which have escalated in recent weeks with Georgia's claim that a Russian military aircraft dropped a missile into the territory and its report, denied by the Russian Air Force, of firing on a Russian military aircraft that had crossed into Georgian airspace. Saakashvili tells Bloomberg, "Georgia has acted as a responsible European nation," and calls for a NATO investigation. U.S.-educated Saakashvili has garnered U.S. support for NATO membership in 2010. Georgia currently has two thousand troops at the Iraq border, the third largest supporter of the war behind the United States and the United Kingdom.