Monday, 19 May 2014
Government Approves Its New Program
An extraordinary Cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.
The agenda featured a single item: the government program. The issue was reported on by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Territorial Administration Armen Gevorgyan. “The new program has been developed on the basis of the 2013 program, the National Security Strategy, the main provisions of the electoral platform of the President of the Republic of Armenia and the Republican Party, as well as those ideas set out in the programs of the parliamentary political parties in tune with the aforementioned documents,” he said.
The Government states that its primary target is the citizen and the guarantees to ensure their freedom, safety and well-being. The Government shall facilitate the citizens’ creative work in their homeland for their own future’s sake. Homeland is to be a safe haven for any Armenian to fully realize the skills, knowledge and experience gained in different parts of the world. This may be achieved through an environment conducive to equal opportunities and fair competition. The Government shall ensure that the rules of the game are the same for everyone, and that Armenia’s economy is open to both domestic and foreign investors.
The speaker noticed that the Program is the reflection of those ideas and approaches formulated during the Prime Minister’s meetings with different non-governmental organizations, associations, especially in terms of supporting entrepreneurship.
“Account was taken of the fact that we are facing time constraints as for program implementation, challenges associated with the global economic trends and specific developments in our region. The Government is set to ensure GDP-denominated 5% medium-term economic growth comparable to developed countries, gradual increase in the minimum wage up to AMD65 thousand, as well as 10 percent reduction in poverty level in 2014-2017,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
The Program’s main provisions envisage creation of jobs implying fair wages, where a substantial and important role is reserved to the business and investment environment, with particular attention given to the countryside and agriculture, the SME development policy, promotion of the IT industry, tourism and other areas.
Special attention will be paid to balanced regional development, infrastructure, development of an effective system of justice and human rights. A new toolkit is proposed in the fields of social protection, healthcare, education and science. The Government shall be consistent in streamlining migration processes.
“Various programs will be implemented to improve and develop the public sector, local self-government, tax and customs administration and economic competition. The Government shall be mindful of the fact that Armenia is going to join the Customs Union,” the speaker pointed out.
Wrapping up the meeting, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan underscored the fact that the new program takes into account the views expressed by all those political parties represented in the National Assembly, ministries and government agencies. “Of course, we approved the reasonable recommendations, since we could not accept the proposals requiring greater financial resources,” the Prime Minister concluded.
The Cabinet approved the Government Program, which will be submitted to the National Assembly in the manner established by law.
