Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday visited the Ministry of Internal Affairs to congratulate the country’s police force on its 108th anniversary of founding.

In his remarks, Pashinyan described the police as a key actor in the country’s internal security and the backbone of the state.

He noted that the Police of the Republic of Armenia have gone through various stages of formation and development, and that they must always remain strong, as this serves the interests of all citizens.

“There are issues related to internal security in the Republic of Armenia, but it is clear and beyond doubt that, apart from isolated cases, we have not had internal security crises since 2018, and this is a very important observation,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister added that at every stage the police have reached a certain level of development, but each period has its own characteristics and requirements.

“What we are doing well today cannot be considered sufficient tomorrow or the day after, because times and challenges are changing. It is very important that we have a dynamically changing and dynamically developing police force, and through our reforms we are moving in that direction,” he said, stressing that reforms must be part of daily work.

“It is very important that we develop the system in such a way that everyone working in a given area feels that they are the leader of their own responsibility. Police work should provide social guarantees, because it is very difficult and is connected to the lives and safety of both police officers and others, and we must take these factors into account,” he added.

According to Pashinyan, it is very positive that there is 61% public trust in the activities of the police in Armenia, which he described as a high level of public confidence.

“In the 21st century, the police must be dynamic and flexible; no system that is not dynamic and not flexible stands a chance,” the Prime Minister added.