Category: 2023

 11:46,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The Government of Armenia has allocated approximately 54 billion drams for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, and at this moment 16 billion of this sum has been spent, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Monday during a parliamentary committee discussion on the 2024 state budget.

He said that a part of the assistance programs for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh will be included in the 2024 state budget as well.

“With decisions that we’ve already taken so far, we’ve allocated approximately 54 billion drams for our forcibly displaced brothers and sisters of Nagorno-Karabakh. But at this moment 16 billion of this amount has been spent. Understandably a part of it will be spent in the 2024 state budget. For example, the accommodation assistance program is a 6-month program, and it must continue for 6 months,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian PM said that they are working with international partners because the country needs support from international partners to manage the humanitarian crisis.

Approximately 100,000 forcibly displaced persons have already received the 100,000-dram lump sum assistance.

 11:24,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The Government of Armenia expects at least 7% economic growth in 2023, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told lawmakers during a joint committee hearing on the 2024 state budget.

“One of our most important achievements in the environment of threats and security challenges is our macroeconomic stability, which we’ve been able to maintain during both the war, the domestic instabilities and the coronavirus pandemic. Armenia continues to be in an environment of high economic growth for the second consecutive year. This year we expect at least 7% economic growth,” Pashinyan said.

The inflation environment is stable, he added. The inflation indicator is at 2,8% with results of the 9 months of the year.

PM Pashinyan said that his administration has created 178,000 jobs since taking office in 2018.

Pashinyan said that a possible re-activation of corruption is one of the biggest threats to the macroeconomic stability. He said that the government must continue its strong, principled fights against corruption.

 11:48,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has expressed ‘deep concern’ about reports on possible bribery and corruption still taking place on various levels in the country.

Speaking at a parliamentary committee hearing on the 2024 state budget, Pashinyan reiterated his administration’s unwavering commitment to combating corruption.

He said that no crisis, no turmoil or difficulty is able to anyhow weaken the government’s anti-corruption campaign.

“As you’ve noticed, this is a matter of national security and national interests. At a recent discussion in the Anti-Corruption Committee and the Corruption Prevention Commission, I stressed that today, the fight against corruption is as important for Armenia as it was back in 2018 or 2019. We are deeply concerned about the perceptions that it is possible to solve various issues in Armenia with money and bribes in different places,” Pashinyan said, stressing that the authorities will continue unwavering fight against corruption.

“Any similar case, regardless of it happening by the former or current government circles, must receive a strong, special, and certainly a lawful assessment,” Pashinyan said.

 13:05,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The capital spending in the defense area will amount to 555 billion drams by the 2024 state budget, finance minister Vahe Hovhannisyan told lawmakers Monday.

“The Defense Ministry’s expenditures will amount to 555 billion drams. This is 7 percent more than in 2023 and amounts to 5,3% of the GDP,” Hovhannisyan said at a parliamentary committee hearing on the 2024 budget draft.

 12:32,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government plans a significant increase in defense spending in 2024, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told lawmakers at a committee hearing on the budget draft.

He stressed that the growing dynamics of the defense spending doesn’t anyhow contradict the peace agenda.

“Defense spending in 2024 will be more than doubled compared to 2018, increasing by 125%. The increasing part of the 2024 budget is 309 billion drams alone, while the entire 2018 budget was 247,9 billion drams,” Pashinyan said.

“The reforms of our army, our military are a priority for us. And I also have to stress that such a dynamics of defense spending doesn’t anyhow contradict our declared peace agenda, because having a combat ready military is the legitimate right and mandatory attribute of any state,” the PM said.

In terms of security, the PM also mentioned the newly created Foreign Intelligence Service.

“It has already been created and is now being developed. I hope, and I am convinced, that it will become an additional and significant factor in terms of ensuring Armenia’s foreign security,” the PM said.

 20:44, 24 October 2023

 20:50, 24 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS.  The representative of Armenia, Mezhlum Mezhlumyan (61 kg) won a bronze medal at the European U23 freestyle wrestling championship held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania,.

Armenia’s Manvel Khndzrtsyan has reached the final, and Sergey Sargsyan will compete for the bronze medal.

The fights will take place on October 25.

 21:31, 24 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Mkrtchyan has met with Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Konstantinos Tasoulas.

The Ambassador Mkrtchyan thanked  the Greek parliamentary speaker and congratulated him on his re-election as the Speaker of the Greek Parliament and expressed hope that more visible results of the Armenian-Greek parliamentarian contacts will be recorded in the coming years, the Armenian Embassy in Greece informs on its Facebook page.

Konstantinos Tasoulas said that the composition of the friendship parliamentary group of the two states will be published in the near future, which will allow the resumption of active Armenian-Greek parliamentary diplomatic contacts.

"During the meeting, issues related to the Armenian-Greek cooperation field were discussed, including political dialogue, cooperation of defense departments, permanent contacts between the coordinators of the diaspora sector at both bilateral and trilateral levels (Armenia-Greece-Cyprus).

The Ambassador of Armenia gave a detailed presentation of the process of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan began in December 2022.

 Ambassador Tigran Mkrtchyan noted that after more than nine months of complete blockade and starvation of the population, in the absence of the international pressure and international observers, an active aggressive phase of ethnic cleansing started.

Touching upon the consequences of Azerbaijani aggression, the Armenian Ambassador clarified that now the Armenian authorities, with the support of international partners, are solving the problems of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh and do the utmost to find solutions to the problems.

 The Ambassador emphasized that the right of Artsakh Armenians to return to their homeland in the presence of reliable international guarantees should not remain off the international agenda.

The parties also discussed other issues related to regional security, as well as the agenda of bilateral relations and upcoming mutual visits aimed at activating inter-parliamentary cooperation.

 21:59, 24 October 2023