Category: News

Subsidies for the creation of pedigree cattle farms will be increased in Armenia. The relevant decision was adopted at the May 21 session of the Government.

As Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan announced, the amount of subsidies will be increased to 50%, regardless of the number of heads purchased. According to him, this will allow to promote the creation of larger economies. In the past, up to 30% subsidy was used for purchasing up to 25 head of pedigree cattle, and 40% for more than 25 head. In addition, the absolute amount of subsidy per head will increase from 1 million to 1.1 million drams.

Subsidies for livestock purchase loans will also be increased. Currently, the loans are subsidized so that the business has to pay 3% per year for imports and 2% for domestic purchases. The maximum subsidized loan rate is 14%.

According to today’s decision, interest rates will be fully subsidized. In other words, the business will have to pay only the principal amount. The grace period for its payment will become 18 months from 12 months.

Within the framework of the previous subsidy programs, the business in Armenia acquired 2,600 pedigree cattle, the number of which has increased in the last few years, reaching 12,2 thousand.

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During the first four months of 2026, the export of Armenian products to China doubled compared to the same period last year. This was announced by RA Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, referring to the diversification of foreign trade and reducing the country’s dependence on individual markets.

According to Papoyan, a similar increase was also recorded in the volume of Armenian product exports to European Union countries. The minister emphasized that the authorities intend to continue the policy of expansion of export destinations, so that in the next two to three years, Armenia does not have a critical dependence on any single market.

Papoyan made a special emphasis on the prospects of Armenian products in Chinese and European directions. He noted that the authorities are already discussing the mechanisms of entering the European Union market with the producers, including participation in the specialized auctions held in the Netherlands.

The minister said that the government is considering various measures to support exporters, including transport subsidies, assistance in intellectual property protection issues during export of variety products.

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RA Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan and Deputy Minister Arman Poghosyan had a meeting with representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia. This was reported by the Ministry of Finance.

During the meeting, a number of important issues related to the new tax concept, the improvement of the business environment, the predictability of the tax policy, as well as the formation of the most favorable conditions for businessmen were discussed.

The parties emphasized the continuous dialogue and cooperation between the public and private sectors, stressing that such discussions contribute to the development of more effective solutions.

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On May 21, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, H.E. Karekin the Second Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians received the head of the observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Armenia, Janezh Lenarchic.

The Mother See reports that during the meeting, the socio-political situation in Armenia during the pre-election period, the need to ensure the peaceful and transparent course of the electoral processes, and the need to maintain the atmosphere of public trust and solidarity were discussed.

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As a result of the activities carried out by the employees of the RA Anti-Corruption Committee, factual information was obtained that the head of the offices of the “Strong Armenia” party in Alaverdi, Lori region, together with other persons, gave electoral bribes to a number of voters on the condition that they would vote for their party in the National Assembly elections.

In order to hide their criminal activities, the money paid to the citizens receiving election bribes was presented as a salary paid under the condition that any position was formalized in the various offices of the party. However, the aforementioned citizens were not only not registered as employees, but also did not perform any work apart from securing votes for themselves or their family members.

Regarding the case, the RA Anti-Corruption Committee initiated criminal proceedings, arrested a number of persons, conducted searches and other administrative actions.

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The Government of the Republic of Armenia approved the draft of amendments and additions to the Labor Code, which provides for the introduction of the idea of ​​”parental time” in labor relations, at the meeting held on May 21. The decision is aimed at increasing the social protection of working parents and will apply to employers in both the public and private sectors.

The new regulations stipulate that parents (including foster parents, adoptive parents and carers) with a child in their care under the age of 12 and under the age of 18 with a profound or severely limiting disability will be entitled to paid leave.

The provided period will be distributed according to the following principle: parents with up to 2 children – a maximum of 30 minutes per day, parents with 3 or more children – a maximum of 1 hour per day. And for the parents of a child with a disability, a maximum of 1 hour per day (regardless of the total number of children).

It is also noted that this right will apply equally to both parents.

Terms of application and upcoming reforms

During the government session, it was clarified that the possibility of accumulating hours is not planned at the current stage. Employees will not be able to add daily free hours together to obtain a full day off. However, the new provision will operate in parallel with the existing legislation. for example, mothers returning from parental leave with a child under 2 years of age, who already have the right to work less than 1 hour per day, will be able to add these benefits and be absent for up to 2 hours per day.

Possible risks were also raised during the session. In particular, concerns have been raised that mandating paid time off may cause private employers to avoid hiring parents caring for children with disabilities. As a solution, it was proposed to develop state incentive mechanisms (for example, in the form of tax benefits), which will be discussed in the National Assembly during the hearing stage.

The prospect of digitization

The government said that in the future, when the digitalization platform for labor contracts will be fully implemented in Armenia, it will be possible to revise the law and make it more flexible. The digital system will allow managing the accumulation of hours and their redistribution between parents.

After the draft is approved by the executive, it will be sent to the RA National Assembly for a final vote.

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Arrest of Artur Osipyan is Pashinyan’s next reprisal and repression against opponents and Artsakh people. Artak Beglaryan, the former state minister of the Republic of Artsakh, former human rights defender, wrote about this on his Facebook page.

“Not to mention his insulting and hate-filled shameful expressions against Arthur and the people of Artsakh, which clearly demonstrate his value system and ideology.

Arthur demonstrated legal and constructive behavior with Pashinyan, and in Artsakh he behaved many times more destructively, but this was tolerated by the authorities for the sake of maintaining democratic principles and public solidarity.

This is the Armenia led by the “democratic” Pashinyan, which will become even worse if he is suddenly re-elected,” he said.

Let’s remind that on May 18, during the CP campaign in Yerevan, Artur Osipyan, the chairman of the Artsakh Revolutionary Party, approached Nikol Pashinyan and asked him questions about Artsakh.

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Armenia’s Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan announced that Russian “Rosselkhoznadzor” specialists are carrying out studies in Armenian companies in order to review the previously applied export bans. At the same time, the minister announced the doubling of export volumes to China and the European Union, emphasizing the state strategy of market diversification.

Referring to the possible new restrictions on the import of Armenian agricultural products by the Russian Federation, Papoyan noted that the Armenian side has not yet received an official letter. According to him, the representatives of “Rosselkhoznadzor” are currently conducting on-site inspections of the companies whose access to the Russian market was closed. In case of a positive conclusion of the inspections, the possibility of supplies will be restored for those companies. The minister described this process as a normal working situation.

Earlier, the Russian agency justified its move with the need to ensure phytosanitary safety, citing that a significant number of quarantine objects were found in a large batch of Armenian flowers last year, which made up the vast majority of the total number of similar incidents. The restrictions will be in effect until the completion of inspections of Armenian greenhouses and a detailed analysis of the results.

The minister did not rule out that some internal political forces of Armenia are deliberately trying to create obstacles for Armenian producers and farmers in the Russian market. However, he assured that the government is monitoring the situation and providing prompt solutions. As a successful example, he pointed to the settlement of document problems related to the Russian Wildberries and Ozon platforms. currently, hundreds of Armenian companies have already restored or are restoring their sales opportunities on the mentioned platforms through an automated procedure.

In the context of economic security, Papoyan particularly emphasized the successes recorded in the direction of diversification of export markets. According to the minister, in January-April 2026, the export from Armenia to China and the European Union doubled.

“We must continue this work so that in the next 2-3 years, Armenia does not depend on any market, and the problem arising in any market does not have a significant impact on our economy,” added the minister, assuring that the work with Russian partners continues actively, and no serious problems are predicted.

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The RA government has announced a large-scale modernization of high school educational programs. The main innovations will be the specialization of training, the introduction of cyber security courses and the launch of advanced programs in the study of artificial intelligence with the support of global technology giants.

The government has approved a package of changes to high school curricula. According to the new concept, students of grades 10-12 will have the opportunity to independently shape their educational path. They will be able to focus on the in-depth study of subjects necessary for the future profession, at the expense of reducing the hours devoted to non-professional disciplines.

One of the important directions of the reforms is the adaptation of the school curriculum to modern challenges. It is planned to significantly expand the teaching of information security, civil defense and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in educational institutions.

As the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan noted, with the support of the FAST Foundation, AB courses have already been successfully integrated into the educational process of about 40 schools. This initiative is innovative on a global level and recently won a prestigious award in a field competition for education programs held in the USA. Building on the success achieved, the agency is currently developing a new large-scale initiative in partnership with Firebird and OpenAI.

In addition to technological development, special attention will be paid to the social and scientific activity of youth. It is planned to involve high school students more actively in research projects and volunteer movements. In order to optimize study time, those students who successfully pass university entrance exams in the winter phase will be able to devote the second semester entirely to similar project and social activities.

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The formalization of direct trade between Armenia and Turkey has raised a wave of new discussions in the regional economic and political agendas. Although the land border between the two countries remains closed, and the circulation of goods is carried out by complex logistics chains, the new legal regulations may change the rules of the market game to some extent.

While diplomatic circles are trying to understand the political context of this move by Ankara, the issues in the economic field are much more pragmatic. what will the consumer gain and what risks will the local producer face in conditions of unequal competition? VERELQtalked with an economist on the topic Suren Parsyan with analyzing the price of “direct paper trade” for the Armenian economy and the impact of the Azerbaijani energy factor on the decisions made by Ankara.

 

Suren Parsyan is in the photo, the source is Factor.am 

VERELQ. Will the formalization of direct trade bring any practical changes in terms of logistics and product pricing, or is it simply a reformulation of customs statistics that legitimizes existing imports through third countries?

Suren Parsyan. In my opinion, the formalization of direct trade with Turkey is primarily a step to formalize legal and customs relations, not a structural change in the economy. In fact, a significant part of Turkish goods have been entering Armenia through Georgia, Iran, the Arab Emirates or other countries for years. In other words, the consumer has been using Turkish products for a long time, it’s just that it has often been accessed through other sources or mediated chains.

However, there may still be a practical difference. If trade is formalized, brokerage costs, double shipments, relabeling and documentation costs are reduced. This can result in a 5-15% price reduction for some products. Especially in the sectors of construction materials, textiles, household goods and food, Turkish products can become more competitive.

But there will be no significant logistic revolution without a physically open border. If the cargo continues to pass through Georgia or another route, then we simply get a “legal formulation of direct trade”, not full economic integration.

VERELQ. Considering that the circulation of goods is mostly one-way, what new risks arise for the local producer of Armenia, and is the market protected from disproportionate competition?

Suren Parsyan. Here the risks are much more serious. The economies of Armenia and Turkey are incomparable in size and productivity. Turkey has a large-scale industry, state subsidies, cheap labor and a lot of export experience. The small and medium producer of Armenia is very vulnerable in the conditions of such competition.

Light industry, furniture production, some branches of building materials, processing of agricultural products, textile and shoe production are especially at risk.

If the market is opened without protective mechanisms, the Armenian producer may simply be pushed out of the market. We already have such experience with cheap imports from other countries.

The state should apply anti-dumping policy, certification control, local producer subsidy and preferential lending. Otherwise, we will not have competition, but disproportionate economic penetration.

It should be understood that Turkey is primarily an exporter, not an import market for Armenia. In other words, trade turnover will most likely remain one-sided.

VERELQ. From the perspective of economic pragmatism, how heavy is Ankara’s energy and investment dependence on Baku? Do these ties exclude the opening of the border with Armenia in the near future?

Suren Parsyan. Today, Turkey’s energy and strategic ties with Azerbaijan are extremely deep. Azerbaijan is not only a source of gas and oil for Turkey, but also an important geopolitical partner in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

TANAP, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, gas projects and joint investment projects have formed a long-term interdependence. Under these circumstances, Ankara is unlikely to take such steps that Baku will perceive as neglecting its interests.

This means that regarding the opening of the border with Armenia, Turkey continues to connect its policy with the Armenian-Azerbaijani process. In other words, even if economic logic suggests opening a border, the political decision still depends on regional arrangements.

But at the same time, Turkey also understands that in the long term the closed border limits its own economic opportunities in the South Caucasus. That is why Ankara is trying to keep the possibility of dialogue and “managed opening”. 

VERELQ. Can this decision be seen as a mere political gesture to the international community, or does it nevertheless prepare some economic ground for regional de-blocking?

Suren Parsyan. I think this is both a political gesture and an economic preparation. Just calling it a political gesture does not fully reflect the reality.

Turkey wants to show the international community that it is ready for regional communication and economic cooperation. This is especially important in relations with Western partners.

But on the other hand, the economy always precedes the great political opening. When countries begin to build even a limited economic relationship, it creates business interests, logistical links, and financial mechanisms that can later contribute to broader deregulation.

In other words, the current step can be considered as an “experimental economic platform” without a complete political solution.

VERELQ. What is the cost of such a “direct paper trade” regime without a physically open border for Armenia’s economy? What unnecessary costs or losses does our economy incur due to complicated logistics?

Suren Parsyan. “Paper trade” without a physically open border is quite expensive for Armenia’s economy.

The first problem is transportation costs. When Turkish goods arrive in Armenia via detours, shipping time, storage costs, insurance fees, commissions, and duplicate customs and logistics services increase.

For example, the direct road from Kars to Gyumri could take hours, while now cargo often bypasses the territory of Georgia for hundreds of kilometers.

Secondly, Armenia is losing its opportunities as a transit country. If the border were open and the railways and roads were functioning, Armenia could receive logistics revenues, development of services and new jobs.

Third, a closed border reduces investment attractiveness. An investor always evaluates market access and transport links. A country with a closed border is considered an additional risk.

Thus, the current regime imposes an “artificial inflation tax” on the economy. Both the business and the consumer pay that cost in the end.

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