The Government of the Republic of Armenia

Today, the regular Cabinet meeting was held, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan.

The bills of the Republic of Armenia “On Amendments and Addenda to the Law “On Procurement”, “On Amendments and Addenda to the Law “On the Corruption Prevention Commission” and “On Amendments to the Administrative Procedure Code” were approved by the Executive. As a result of the adoption of the bills, conflict of interest and anti-corruption mechanisms in the field of public procurement will be improved. The bills propose to define the concepts of “conflict of interest” and “related participant”. The Government is expected to reserve the authority to include the heads of the executive bodies of state-created funds in the 2nd and 3rd levels of influence and (or) increase the levels. 3 levels of influence are proposed. The bill proposes to limit the ability of companies affiliated with the above-mentioned persons to participate in procurement processes, stipulating that the participant will submit a statement with the application about the absence of affiliation with officials. As noted by the Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan, the Government is authorized to define cases for increasing the level of influence of officials on procurement processes, based on the latter's actual or potential influence on the procurement process, and to include the heads of state-created foundations and executive bodies in the second or third levels of influence and increase the levels. The regulations will enter into force on January 1, 2027.

An earnest exchange of views took place on the topic, a number of questions, observations and suggestions were presented. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan highlighted the importance of the adopted decision and emphasized the need to discuss in detail the issues raised at the Cabinet meeting regarding the bills in the National Assembly.

The Executive adopted a decision “On approving the fifth amendment to the concession agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and “Corporation America S. A. ” and an reserving authority to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia”. According to the substantiation, the goal of the decision is to expand the capacity of Armenia’s international airports, improve infrastructure, increase the quality of service, as well as create conditions for turning Kapan’s “Syunik” airport into an international airport. In particular, the Concessionaire undertakes to implement capital investments in the amount of about 425 million USD. The master plan and investment program will be agreed with the Government, which will also include investments made since 2023.

Referring to the decision, Mher Grigoryan noted that if the amendment is signed, starting from that day, Kapan Airport can be operated as an international airport. “That is, we will have the third international airport in Armenia.”

The government adopted a decision aimed at resolving the issues that arose during the organization and implementation of the teacher’s voluntary certefication process, excluding the problematic issues that arose during the organization and implementation of the process and their ambiguous consequences. As noted by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan, the decision introduces another reform package for the teacher’s voluntary certefication system, which aims to improve the program that is already gaining momentum and has led to a significant increase in teachers’ salaries. According to the minister, several regulations in the decision apply to already working teachers, and others apply to those who want to work as teachers. In particular, with the planned changes, the remuneration for the results of the certefication will also apply to the hours of the individual component carried out by the teacher. The 2nd group of amendments, which concerns people who wish to work as teachers, is based on the latest amendment to the Law on General Education.