The Government of the Republic of Armenia

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan called a consultative meeting with the Teghut deposit development agenda. The meeting was attended by several environmental NGOs and government representatives in the person of RA ministers of nature protection, energy and natural resources, economy and officials from these agencies and the staff of government. The meeting has discussed the government's answers to those inquiries concerning the Teghut deposit as submitted in writing by environmental organizations.

"It is not a secret that the maintenance of high growth rates has been a priority for the government considering our efforts aimed at addressing the fundamental task of poverty reduction in the Republic of Armenia. To this end, together with you we have to provide such favorable conditions as may facilitate the creation of new jobs and boost economic growth. This will also help find resources to cover the needs of our pensioners and vulnerable households. It goes without saying that we must support entrepreneurs by helping them to set up and expand business in Armenia. I would like to remind you that when the RA President visited Lori marz last 8th of February, he declared that the government should bolster entrepreneurship though with no detriment to nature. This means that we must ensure stability in the long run and, therefore, we cannot allow of creating environmental threats to nature as this will put a heavy burden on the State and our people subsequently. In view of the above, we should take well-balanced decisions in this field. This means that the minister of nature protection is supposed to take his seat among you to ensure that a balance is found for government decisions, including the activities of the ministries of economy, energy and natural resources, in particular, so as we are safe from being tempted of growth indicators and realize the need for ensuring a secure environment for people. Non-governmental organizations' unbiased stance is the best check upon these activities as they help raise public awareness, detect such problems as may give rise to environmental threats unless the government passes balanced decisions. By constantly calling the public's attention to your concerns, you may be able to expose those burning issues that cannot be ignored and call for publicity and prompt solution. Your activities seem to be crucial from this standpoint. Your response must be exhaustive for both the society and yourself. Otherwise, additional joint efforts must be exercised.

Of course, there will be debates over different approaches. We are open to criticism, and I would like to state from the very start that am not going to defend each decision of the government. We will accept any proposal should you manage to convince us that we are on the wrong path. We are all liable to make mistakes occasionally: even the most skilled specialists may be mistaken. We are open to dialog and anticipate such an approach on your part. This means that if our experts' computations and estimations prove to be accurate, you must have the courage and the ability of admitting that a thesis of yours may have been odds with reality. If we proceed this way from the very start, we can engage a dialog.