The Georgian parliament on Thursday approved by 175 votes to 24 the country's new government led by Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli after former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania died on Feb. 3 in a gas accident.

Nogaideli, former finance minister, took office after the vote. Valery Chechelashvili, a former ambassador to Russia, took the post as finance minister.

The make-up of the new government remained largely unchanged.

The parliament also passed the new government's administrative program.

In his speech at the parliament, Nogaideli said that the main tasks for the government are to deal with issues of employment, energy and agriculture, improve infrastructure, encourage economic growth and implement military and education reforms.

On Feb. 3, Zhvania and Raul Yusupov, deputy governor of Georgia's Kvemo Kartli region, were found dead in Yusupov's apartment in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

The Georgian government said experts found no signs of violence on the body of Zhvania and that they believed his death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2005)