168: MFA wants additional billions. The Government accepted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ notice

Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the agenda of the government session on approving the draft laws “On Amendments to the Law on Diplomatic Service”, “On Amendments and Amendments to the Law on “Public Service” and “On Amendments and Amendments to the Law on Remuneration of State Positions and Public Service Persons” and considering it urgent.

The proposal was accepted with a package of non-reportable issues.

According to the justification presented, the adoption of this legal act

is aimed at solving problems arising in the field, regulating various gaps that require legislative regulations and found in practice, improving the remuneration conditions of diplomats serving in diplomatic service bodies in foreign countries on the principle of rotation.

Accordingly,

– the requirement for a diplomat to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a subordinate body for at least two years will be revised, setting it at 18 (eighteen) months.  

– regulations on establishing a diplomatic office will be introduced.

“In recent years, according to agreements reached with foreign countries, it became necessary to establish diplomatic offices in some countries.

For example, there are cases when it is necessary to have a representation of the state in a foreign country, but at that time it is not advisable to create an embassy from a financial or other point of view. In such cases, an agreement can be reached with a foreign state to establish a diplomatic office,” the document says;

the provision of paying 50 percent of the compensation to the spouse holding a lower position in the case of the service of diplomat spouses in the same diplomatic service body in a foreign country will be removed from the draft law.

According to the rationale, “such a change is aimed at ensuring equal pay conditions for diplomat spouses, as well as the principles of equal pay for equal work.”

The adoption of another draft law, “On Amendments to the Law on the Remuneration of Persons Occupying State Positions and State Service Positions”, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was conditioned by the equalization of the official rates of diplomats serving in diplomatic service bodies in foreign countries and diplomats serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.

“Currently, the official rates of diplomats serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are set by the law “On Remuneration of Persons Occupying State Positions and Public Service Positions”, when a normal increase of the basic salary – official rate is set for consecutive work (for example, the calculated minimum rate of the first secretary is AMD 267,072, and the maximum rate is AMD 366,080 drams), and the official rates of diplomats serving in diplomatic service bodies operating in foreign countries on the principle of rotation are defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia No. 738-Н of July 3, 2014 by decision, when a normal increase in the official rate is not planned and not ensured (for example, the rate of the first secretary for the countries of the single euro payment zone is established at 157,069 AMD, and for countries other than the countries of the single euro payment zone – 178,442 AMD, which is unchanged),” the justification states.

But that’s not all, the foreign ministry also attributed this change to the continuously changing security environment in the region and the world, the presence of external threats and challenges surrounding the Republic of Armenia. According to the Ministry, this requires the diplomats serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the diplomatic service bodies of the Republic of Armenia on a rotational basis to make incomparably more energetic efforts on bilateral and multilateral platforms, which in turn creates a need to “make changes to the law “On Remuneration of Persons Occupying State Positions and State Service Positions” in order to improve the remuneration conditions”.

This part of the justification, by the way, is in contradiction with the peace talks that Nikol Pashinyan addresses to the RA citizens every day.

This, in turn, implies the need for additional financial resources and expected changes in the revenues and expenditures of the state budget.

Thus, according to the rationale, after the law “On Amendments to the Law “On Remuneration of Persons Occupying State Positions and State Service Positions” comes into force. In 2026, the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs will need an additional 93,490.3 thousand drams per month for salaries and 56,993.7 thousand drams for each half-yearly award, and in the following years the expenses will increase by 1,235,870.6 thousand drams»։

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