Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented his Civil Contract party’s manifesto on education programs, military reforms, and the delimitation process with Azerbaijan to voters on Wednesday at a campaign event for the June 7 election in Aragatsotn Province.

He announced that the government’s flagship project to build and renovate 300 schools and 500 kindergartens across the country will soon be completed.

“By the end of this year, we will complete the 300 schools and 500 kindergartens program, and immediately launch the construction of the next 300 schools,” he said.

Pashinyan said the government also plans to build an additional 100 kindergartens in communities where there is a need.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the voluntary teacher certification program, saying it has enabled teachers’ salaries to double.

He added that in the next stage of the program, teachers who have already been certified will be able to retake the certification process, with the potential to raise their base salaries to as much as 300,000 drams, including bonuses.

The Prime Minister also spoke about ongoing reforms in the military.

“Today, we have privates in our military receiving a salary of 700,000 drams,” Pashinyan said.

He said that under the Homeland Defender volunteer service program, thousands of young people serve as contract soldiers and earn up to 600,000 drams while continuing to live with their families.

Pashinyan said that through this process, Armenia has entered a concrete path toward building a professional army.

He called on citizens to attend the military parade scheduled for May 28 at Republic Square in Yerevan to see the weapons acquired in recent years and the changes that have taken place in the armed forces.

At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed that the reforms are aimed at peace, not war.

“We are not preparing for war through army reforms; we are preparing for peace,” he said.

According to Pashinyan, a strong and capable army is necessary so that Armenia is not seen as an attractive target for aggression.

“We must ensure that our country is never, ever, ever attractive for aggression; on the contrary, it must be clear that no aggression can be carried out against our country,” he said.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the delimitation process with Azerbaijan, stating that the issue of occupied territories should be resolved through border delimitation.

Pashinyan said that the regulation on the joint activities of the Armenia–Azerbaijan border delimitation commissions, which has already been ratified in both countries, has legally binding force and is based on the principles of the Alma-Ata Declaration.

“De jure, these issues have already been resolved,” Pashinyan said.

Representatives of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Elena Yeremenko and Roman Amburtsev, as well as Armenia’s representative to the CIS, Hayk Chilingaryan, met with Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Vahagn Hovakimyan in Yerevan.

According to a press release from the CEC, Chairman Hovakimyan presented the legislative regulations.

“The Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will conduct an observation mission during the 2026 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Armenia. The delegates and the Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission discussed the rights and responsibilities of organizations carrying out observation missions,” the statement said.

The parliamentary elections in Armenia will take place on June 7.

The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 13 May, USD exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 368.63 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.98 drams to 431.78 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.0339 drams to 5.0126 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.91 drams to 497.91 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 600 drams to 55447 drams. Silver price up by 38.43 drams to 991.28 drams.

A Longevity Forum is taking place Wednesday on the final day of the European high-level meeting HEALTHXCHANGE 2026, dedicated to the future of sustainable health tourism. The event opened at the Ensana Aquahouse Hotel & SPA resort complex in Sts Constantine and Helena Resort.

The meeting is organized by the European Spas Association (ESPA), the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA), and HTI Conference & Expo – an international platform and event organization focused on the development of health, spa, wellness, and medical tourism. Hosts of the event are the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism and the Varna Municipality, while the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is the main media partner.

Among the participants in the longevity discussion is Dr. Petra Bailey, Vice President of Ensana Health Spa, a Forbes-recognized leader, award-winning executive, and international speaker.

The keynote speaker is Dr. Angela Mladenov, an international physician and longevity expert, who will discuss global longevity trends.

Also participating will be Nikolina Angelkova, former Bulgarian Minister of Tourism (2014-2017), investment adviser, and lawyer. She will speak about opportunities for integrating the concept of longevity into the strategies of tourism management organizations and brands.

The discussion will also feature Vessela Toncheva-Schenk, a certified longevity fitness coach working between Bulgaria and Germany, as well as Mourad Benahmed, Michelin-starred chef at Ensana Sairme Resort in Georgia, who will present Ensana’s philosophy of healthy, functional, and flavorful cuisine.

Participants in the European meeting will also visit the Roman Baths of Varna and the Regional Historical Museum Varna. 

(This information is published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA). 

Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan and the head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, visited the Aruch St. Grigor Church in Aragatsotn Province together with schoolchildren participating in the “Young European Heritage Makers” creative competition.

Deputy Education Minister Alfred Kocharyan also took part in the visit.

According to a statement released by the ministry, the guests toured the Aruch St. Grigor Church and the surrounding area and were introduced to the history of the monument.

During the event, Education Minister Zhanna Andreasyan and EU Ambassador Vassilis Maragos presented certificates to the nine winning teams of the “Young European Heritage Makers” competition held within the framework of the European Heritage Days programme.

The minister congratulated the students and thanked them for participating and for showing interest in historical monuments. She expressed hope that the event would inspire the students to discover Armenia and learn more about the country’s cultural heritage and historical monuments.

Zhanna Andreasyan noted that a festival of spiritual music dedicated to Christmas is held every year at the Aruch St. Grigor Church in Aragatsotn Province.

“I hope you will also take part in the upcoming concert, because when spiritual music is performed inside the church, its grandeur and magnificence are revealed in an entirely new way,” Zhanna Andreasyan told the students.

The minister, the EU ambassador and the schoolchildren then took part in a hike to the Aruch medieval fortress.

The “Luserun” (“Generation of Light”) team representing the town of Abovyan, which won the national stage of the “Young European Heritage Makers” competition, also secured victory in the pan-European stage. The winning team had travelled to Strasbourg and recently returned from the trip.

“Luserun” presented an interactive educational quiz game dedicated to the Garni Temple.

Within the framework of the ARC-HE-TOUR-DEV programme, and with the support of the Italian Embassy in Armenia, a restoration and museum development project for the Aruch medieval fortress has been designed while preserving methodological rigor and the historical integrity of the monument.

The project envisages visitor routes, recreation areas, entrance sections and interpretation tools aimed at ensuring a coherent and accessible presentation of the monument complex.

The “Chinese Bridge” global competition, which this year is being held under the slogan “One World, One Family,” aims to promote intercultural dialogue, strengthen Armenia-China educational and cultural ties, and support Armenian students in learning and advancing their Chinese-language skills.

Opening the event, Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Li Xinwei said the number of countries participating in the competition has expanded significantly over the past 25 years.

“Learning foreign languages is the most convenient way to overcome geographical and cultural boundaries, communicate with people from different countries and build friendships. That is why we compare language to a bridge, and Chinese is a bridge not only to China, but also to the world,” the ambassador said, expressing hope that the participants would contribute to the development of Armenia-China relations as well as to the promotion of Armenian culture worldwide.

Armenian Deputy Education Minister Artur Danielyan described the event as important from the perspective of developing educational, cultural, scientific and youth cooperation between Armenia and China.

“I am pleased to note that in recent years we have seen steady growth in this direction, reflected in the highly effective work of the Confucius Institute in Armenia, the Armenian-Chinese Friendship School, and the scholarship programme provided to our country by our Chinese partners,” Danielyan said, adding that Armenian Culture Days are planned to be held in China this year.

The deputy minister stressed that the Armenian government attaches importance to the teaching of foreign languages among school students, including deepening their knowledge of Chinese.

The competition, which includes tests of Chinese-language proficiency as well as creative and cultural performances, brought together university and school students from across Armenia.

In the Armenian stage of the competition, the top prize was awarded to Hayastan Hmayakyan, a student at Brusov State University, while in the school and primary school age groups the winners were Sabina Vardanyan and Mariam Luse Rubinyan, students of the university’s Confucius Institute.

The Armenian stage of the “Chinese Bridge” global competition is organized on the initiative of the Chinese Embassy in Armenia and coordinated by the Confucius Institute of Valery Brusov State University.