Civil Contract faction MP Babken Tunyan, the candidate for chair of the parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs, has proposed establishing a group in Parliament to respond to business-related concerns.

“I think we should establish a group in the National Assembly to respond to business-related concerns. Of course, there is a capacity issue here, but I believe it can be resolved. We will discuss this issue with the Human Rights Defender and can cooperate very effectively,” Tunyan said during the discussion of his candidacy.

He also highlighted the importance of expanding Parliament’s analytical capacity, proposing the creation of a separate fund within the National Assembly’s budget, whose resources could be allocated through outsourcing to conduct economic research.

“In a parliamentary country, Parliament should have significantly greater resources. One idea is for the National Assembly, in addition to its approved annual budget, to have a certain fund that could be used to conduct economic research,” he said.

Tunyan also highlighted strengthening cooperation with business associations and the academic community, conducting post-legislative monitoring of the effectiveness of laws already adopted, and ensuring that the public is properly informed about legislative changes as among his priorities.

Armenia is in an active working phase of its visa liberalization dialogue with the European Union, Acting Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan said on Friday.

In May this year, the Armenian side received the first progress report on the implementation of the Action Plan, which assessed Armenia’s steps in this direction quite positively.

“The European Union has presented us with 53 recommendations, which, for the purposes of our internal work, we divided into specific actions. We detailed these recommendations, outlining the steps we need to implement to fulfill them. Accordingly, we developed 117 actions. More than half have already been completed, and by the end of the year we will have much more positive results. The recommendations concern the first phase of the visa liberalization action plan, which relates solely to the development of legislation and policies,” Ghazaryan said at a press conference.

He expressed hope that the implementation of the first phase could be fully reviewed at the beginning of next year or during the first half of the year, leading to positive progress in the visa liberalization dialogue with the EU.

Armenia has evolved from a country of emigration into a transit and destination country for migrants, Acting Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan said at a press conference.

“This trend is continuing and, in a sense, gaining momentum. The second major trend is the growing interest of foreigners in Armenia. This trend is also continuing, and we can see its results in the statistics for the first half of 2026,” Ghazaryan said.

Ghazaryan noted that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has initiated the process of developing and revising the country’s migration strategy.

“Armenia has had migration strategies in the past as well, but a comprehensive review is now being carried out. For the first time, the strategy addresses such an important area as citizenship. Previous strategic documents contained certain gaps regarding citizenship; therefore, approaches to the institution of citizenship are being reviewed for the first time,” the Acting Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs said.

Acting Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan said that applications for Armenian citizenship have increased significantly in recent years, with citizenship primarily being sought for two purposes. In 2025, the number of applications exceeded 32,000, marking a historic high. He said the first purpose is to obtain a travel document.

“If you look at the years when there were problems in our densely populated Armenian communities in the Diaspora, for example, with certain countries where our compatriots were citizens and could not travel or faced difficulties traveling. There is still such a situation today, obviously in relation to the Armenian community in Russia. And we are seeing a sharp increase in applications for Armenian citizenship. If you look at the applications for citizenship in 2025, their number exceeded 32,000, which is a historical maximum for the entire history of Armenia’s existence. In the two preceding years, the number of applications was more than 20,000, and if we go back further, we see average figures of 7,000–8,000. We see that some event took place, specifically military operations on the territory of Ukraine, travel restrictions were imposed on Russian citizens, and then we see an increase in such applications for Armenian citizenship. And if we examine the grounds as well, we will see that Russian citizens who mainly apply for Armenian citizenship are ethnically Armenian. In other words, this trend is mainly related to our Diaspora,” Ghazaryan said at a press conference.

He said this means that Armenian citizenship is being instrumentalized in this case simply to obtain a travel document.

“Because if we look at what requirements the Republic of Armenia has for ethnic Armenians to obtain citizenship, those requirements are zero, meaning that there are no requirements. Now you may say that we periodically hear from our compatriots that obtaining Armenian citizenship is difficult. I can state with full confidence that this is not the case. There may be administrative difficulties, meaning that a person does not have sufficient documents to prove their Armenian ethnicity, one piece of information is incorrect, another piece of information needs to be cross-checked, or something needs to be clarified. In other words, if we look at this administration from the perspective of paperwork, yes, there may perhaps be difficulties. However, if we look at the requirements imposed by the state on ethnic Armenians for obtaining citizenship, the Republic of Armenia essentially imposes no requirements. And this, in my professional opinion, is a problem, and this problem needs to be addressed. We also have similar emphases concerning citizenship in the visa liberalization action plan, but that is not the only basis or rationale. We had these discussions regarding the importance of the institution of citizenship even before the visa liberalization dialogue with the EU had begun. In other words, this issue is not new to our agenda, and in the near future we will also present a draft of relevant legislative amendments that will address these issues,” Armen Ghazaryan elaborated.

He pointed to another issue related to the institution of citizenship that needs to be addressed.

“A person who renounces Armenian citizenship has the opportunity to apply to restore that citizenship 10 minutes later. Is this logical and normal? Again, in my modest professional opinion, no, it is neither normal nor logical. If a person renounces their citizenship, voluntarily saying that they no longer wish to be a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, this means that the citizen terminates the social contract they have with the state, saying, ‘I no longer want to be part of this contract.’ But after taking one lap around the building, the citizen can say, ‘No, now I want to be a citizen of the Republic of Armenia.’ It is obvious that there are other motivations here, particularly regarding the renunciation of citizenship by minors. We need to have an honest discussion in this regard. Under our legislation, a minor may renounce Armenian citizenship only if one of the parents has renounced Armenian citizenship. We are talking about the renunciation of citizenship by our minors and, in particular, about the renunciation of citizenship by male minors, and I believe this issue should also be addressed in the context of the institution of citizenship,” the Acting Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs concluded.

Armenian officials said Friday that significant increases had been recorded across individual migration indicators compared with the previous two years.

Nelly Davtyan, Acting Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, provided an update on the latest trends at a press conference.

“The broadest migration indicators concern border crossings. When summarizing last year, we publicized the figure of 8,660 as a first-ever positive indicator, when the difference between entries and exits by Armenian citizens was significantly positive.

“Describing the first half of 2026, we have recorded another notable development. During this period, the balance between border entries and exits by Armenian citizens was also positive. This is an exceptional indicator in the sense that the figure usually improves in the second half of the year, mainly due to our traditional labor-migration flows, in which departures are recorded at the beginning of spring and arrivals during the working season.

“Nevertheless, this year we recorded 1,347 as the difference between entries and exits. There were 871,409 entries, while exits totaled 870,062. If we compare this with the first-half figures of previous years, the figure was -20,065 last year and -22,893 in 2024,” Davtyan said.

She added that the same trend could also be observed among foreign nationals. Once again, a significant increase was recorded in the balance of border crossings. According to data for the first half of 2026, the difference was 57,953. By comparison, the figure for the first half of 2025 and 2024 was approximately 35,000.

“9,534 applications were submitted for a one-year temporary residence status, of which 6,059 were approved. Compared with previous years, there has been an approximately threefold increase in the number of applications, while the number of approved applications has also increased by roughly three times.

“There has also been some growth in applications for three-year residence status, although the figure is comparatively small. In previous years, the figure was in the range of 1,500–1,700, whereas in the first half of this year it reached 2,085,” Davtyan said.

The official said that readmission figures were also broadly comparable with those of previous years. Armenia received 293 readmission requests, involving a total of 462 individuals.

The number of asylum applications submitted in Armenia during the first half of the current year was 358, of which 94 were approved. Compared with previous years, the number of rejections this year was 50% higher.

Member of Parliament Narek Karapetyan, head of the opposition “Strong Armenia” faction, said in parliament on Friday that he sees a need for a radical change in Armenia’s economic model, arguing that the economic growth recorded in recent years has not resulted in qualitative changes.

Karapetyan made the remarks during a confirmation hearing on MP Babken Tunyan’s candidacy for chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.

“Poverty is knocking on the doors of 600,000 people in our country. Over the past eight years, up to 2024, the poverty rate has decreased by only 2–3%, while the country has attracted $7–8 billion in new loans,” Karapetyan said.

He argued that a significant portion of the roughly 5 trillion drams in GDP growth recorded in recent years has coincided with increases in government debt and citizens’ loan obligations.

“Approximately half of the total economic growth—around 2.5 trillion drams out of 5 trillion—comes from loans taken out by the population, while around 2.4 trillion comes from loans taken out by the government. Unfortunately, there has been no qualitative change in our economy,” the faction leader stated.

Karapetyan also addressed the state of agriculture, noting that, according to official statistics, the sector recorded a decline in the first half of 2026.

“A radical change in the economic model is necessary. With this model, we will end up like Lebanon,” he said, warning that rising public debt and dependence on temporary external factors are creating long-term risks.

According to Karapetyan, Armenia’s economic activity is currently being supported by high copper prices and financial inflows from other countries resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war. However, he stressed that both factors are temporary.

Parliament continues to hold confirmation hearings for committee chairs.

On Friday, the opposition Strong Armenia faction nominated its MP Davit Ghazinyan for the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Committee on Territorial Administration and Environmental Protection.

The hearings are ongoing.

Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan held a meeting on Friday with Argentina’s Ambassador to Armenia, Rafael Enrique Gonzalez Alemán.

The Ambassador congratulated Ruben Rubinyan on his election as Speaker of Parliament and wished him success in carrying out his important mission, according to a readout issued by the Parliament’s press service.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the high level of political dialogue between Armenia and Argentina, as well as the atmosphere of mutual respect and trust that has been established between the two countries.

They discussed interparliamentary relations between Armenia and Argentina. In this context, they emphasized the role of friendship groups and bilateral visits in further developing cooperation between the two countries.

The parties also discussed issues related to the development and expansion of economic ties between Armenia and Argentina.

The Forum on Strategic and Systemic Reforms in Sport was held at the Yerevan State Sports College of Olympic Reserve, marking the first conference organized in this format with the participation of key stakeholders in the sector.

The event opened with remarks by Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan.

Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan, Khoren Zargaryan, Director of the Sports Management Center, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, sports federations, sports schools in Yerevan and the regions of Armenia, and partner private organizations also attended the event.

Minister Andreasyan stressed the need to make such discussions regular, noting that there is an intention to turn the forum into an annual platform.

“This will be a good opportunity for various organizations and representatives active in the sports sector to come together, summarize the work carried out, discuss upcoming tasks and joint programs, as well as possibilities for implementing them more effectively,” she said, according to a ministry transcript published online. 

Andreasyan said that the forum’s agenda covers the Government’s main strategic directions in the sports sector, ranging from high-performance and mass sports to infrastructure development, public-private partnerships, the organization of international competitions, and digitalization of the sector.

State funding for the sports sector has increased significantly

The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport presented the figures for state funding of the sector. “Compared with 2018, we have a 15-fold increase in state allocations for mass sports, while allocations for high-performance sports have increased almost fivefold. This means that state allocations directed toward sports have increased on a larger scale,” she said.

The minister emphasized that the increase in funding is directed toward specific targets and the implementation of programs, including the development of sports infrastructure. Such work has also been carried out at the Yerevan State Sports College of Olympic Reserve, where the forum was held. It was noted that during the college’s 55-year history, the volume of allocations made over just the past five years has been so large that allocations made before that period amounted to less than 10 percent of that figure.

“All this is creating new sports infrastructure and opportunities, which, on the one hand, create new conditions for sports education and, on the other hand, allow sports federations to cooperate with the college within the framework of their events and programs and make use of this infrastructure,” Zhanna Andreasyan said, pointing to the already operational weightlifting hall as a successful example. She noted that the facility has become a good platform for the Weightlifting Federation.

Zhanna Andreasyan added that last year alone, work was carried out at around 100 sports facilities through the ministry’s budget, subsidy programs, and other initiatives.

Around 100 art and sports schools to be built or reconstructed

According to the minister, the Government’s new program places greater emphasis on the development of sports infrastructure. Following the example of the programs for 300 schools and 500 kindergartens, a program is also planned for the construction and reconstruction of around 100 art and sports schools and their provision with new equipment.

“The state has never had a systematic and consistent policy aimed at improving and modernizing conditions in sports schools. We have had individual measures to address certain necessary and mainly urgent issues, but now, through this systematic and consistent program, we will be able to bring around 50 of our sports schools fully up to new, modern standards,” Zhanna Andreasyan said.

She said that modern infrastructure should not only contribute to the development of high-performance sports but also change society’s attitude toward healthy lifestyles and physical activity. In this context, Zhanna Andreasyan also addressed the attitude toward physical education that has developed in schools over the years. According to her, this has resulted in a situation where indicators of children’s physical health and participation in sports have declined significantly.

According to the minister, there are still schools today that do not have gyms, and as part of their comprehensive reconstruction, gyms are also being built from scratch. The Government’s new program aims to ensure that every child has access to sports infrastructure and the opportunity to participate in their preferred sport.

Sports complexes through public-private partnerships in enlarged communities

Zhanna Andreasyan also emphasized the involvement of the private sector, noting that the state does not intend to carry out the entire process of developing sports infrastructure on its own.

According to her, public-private cooperation is developing in two main directions. The first is the creation of sports infrastructure in cooperation with the private sector. Standard sports complexes are planned to be built in enlarged communities, and tenders have already been announced for the construction of three such facilities in Ararat, Yeghegnadzor, and Martuni. Once built by the state, the sports complexes are planned to be transferred to the private sector for fiduciary management.

The second direction is the financing of priority state programs at sports facilities owned or operated by the private sector. Children’s swimming lessons are already being funded, and the list of sports has been expanded. Zhanna Andreasyan said that private shooting ranges and cross-country skiing facilities may also be included in the program, as a result of which children’s training sessions will be funded by the state.

Around 25,000 schoolchildren participate in the Prime Minister’s Cups

In the context of developing mass sports, the minister also emphasized the creation of a competitive environment and the organization of the “Prime Minister’s Cup” competitions. According to her, around 25,000 schoolchildren participated in these competitions last year. In Zhanna Andreasyan’s assessment, the figure has improved compared with the first year, but it is still insufficient in the context of the total number of school-age children. The number of participants is expected to steadily increase by expanding the competitions and opportunities to participate in sports at schools.

At least two major international championships in Armenia every year

In the context of internationalizing sports, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport said that one of the goals is to make Armenia a sustainable platform for hosting international competitions.

“Under the Government’s new program, we will set ourselves the task of hosting at least two European or World Championships in Olympic sports every year,” Zhanna Andreasyan said.

The minister emphasized that in recent years Armenia has accumulated considerable experience in hosting international competitions, while each new championship contributes to the development of organizational capabilities. As the most prominent example, she pointed to the European Shooting Championship, noting that despite the technical and organizational challenges, it was held at a high level.

Zhanna Andreasyan recalled that in 2027, Armenia is scheduled to host the 10th Francophone Games, featuring ten sports, as well as the European Gymnastics Championships, the World Weightlifting Championships, the European Karate Championships for athletes under 21, and other competitions.

New football stadium to be built in Ijevan, reconstruction planned in Vanadzor

Among the major international events, Zhanna Andreasyan also highlighted the 2029 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Ahead of the tournament, a stadium with a capacity of 10,000 spectators that meets UEFA Category 4 requirements is planned to be built in Ijevan, while the Vanadzor stadium is planned to be reconstructed.

At the same time, the minister emphasized that the internationalization of sports also entails ensuring international standards and the rules of fair play, joining relevant conventions, as well as improving the quality of refereeing and increasing the number of international-level Armenian referees, which, in her assessment, is of key importance.

Digitalization as a priority

Another important focus of the forum was the digitalization of the sports sector. According to Zhanna Andreasyan, the introduction of the Sports Management Information System is a priority.

“This entire volume of work cannot be carried out effectively if we do not have an appropriate set of digital tools that can both significantly make our lives easier and increase transparency and accountability from the perspective of the public,” the minister said.

Sports Expo to be held in cooperation with the private sector

A Sports Expo is planned to be held in Armenia in 2027 through public-private cooperation. The initiative aims to bring together on a single platform representatives of various sports, Armenian and internationally recognized athletes, as well as companies operating in the sports sector.

“This is an entirely new experience for us; nothing like this has been organized in Armenia. It is particularly encouraging that the proposal came from the private sector. This will be a very important impetus for the commercialization of sports,” the minister said, thanking all parties involved in the initiative for their joint work.

According to the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, various educational institutions will also be involved in the expo, providing them with an opportunity to increase their visibility, acquire new partners, and implement joint programs. The possibility of concluding the expo with a “Best of the Year” awards ceremony in the sports sector is also being discussed.

According to Khoren Abrahamyan, a representative of the “Sport Space Foundation,” negotiations are already underway to involve athletes of international caliber, and the project is planned to become a recurring event. He said that sports equipment, sportswear and nutrition, as well as other products and services related to sports and healthy lifestyles, will be presented at the expo. Representatives of well-known foreign companies are also planned to be invited to Armenia. Separate booths are planned for athletes, where they will have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, interact, and exchange experiences. The initiative will also include a charitable component.

In conclusion, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport expressed hope that the first Forum on Strategic and Systemic Reforms in Sport would become a continuing platform for discussing the sector’s challenges, tasks, and development directions with the participation of the state, sports organizations, and the private sector.

The forum also addressed issues related to cooperation between the Sports Management Center and federations, the operation of fitness centers and new regulations for coach certification, as well as improving the quality of the organization of Armenian championships.

Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha has sent a congratulatory message to Ararat Mirzoyan on his reappointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

“On the occasion of your reappointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, I am pleased to extend to you my warmest congratulations and wish you good health and every success during your new mandate.

“I am confident that you will continue to advance Armenia’s reform agenda, deepen Armenia’s partnerships with European and international partners, and make an important contribution to ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

“I am confident that cooperation between the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Armenia will continue to develop successfully, and I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our bilateral relations and deepen our cooperation in international and multilateral fora, for the benefit of our two countries and peoples,” the Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in his message.

The Armenian government resigned on August 2, when the first session of the parliament formed following the June 7 parliamentary elections in Armenia began. Under the Constitution of Armenia, the government must submit its resignation to the President of the Republic on the day the first session of the newly elected parliament begins.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed the government’s resignation on August 2, and it was submitted to the Office of the President. The President accepted the government’s resignation, after which the Civil Contract party, which secured a majority in the newly formed parliament, nominated Nikol Pashinyan for the post of prime minister. On that basis, the President reappointed Pashinyan as Prime Minister.

On August 3, at the proposal of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan also appointed the ministers and deputy prime ministers. Ararat Mirzoyan was reappointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.