Thursday, 21 May 2015
Government tuned in to public concerns
A Cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.
To begin with, the Prime Minister referred to the Income Tax Law as amended on January 1, 2015, which provides that the State shall actually refund interest on mortgage obtained for the purchase or construction of housing, reducing thereby borrowers’ financial burden. In the meantime, complaints keep coming in from citizens stating that the process is quite complicated and the applicable mechanisms are not so clear.
In view of the above and complying with the citizens’ complaints, the Head of Government instructed the Ministry of Finance to explore the matter as shortly as possible in order to simplify the mechanisms and accordingly notify the public at large.
Reminding that the latest Cabinet meeting had urged the Ministry of Diaspora to provide clarifications on the situation in Syria, the Premier gave the floor to the Minister of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia.
Minister Hranush Hakobyan dwelt on the current situation in Aleppo and the measures taken by Diaspora-based organizations to help Syrian Armenians.
The Prime Minister suggested the ministries concerned to make a coordinated effort in order to assist our compatriots.
The meeting approved the Government’s findings on the Central Bank’s monetary policy in 2015 and the relevant performance report.
In this connection, touching upon the current state of the economy, Hovik Abrahamyan noted that the data published yesterday by the National Statistics Service point to increased economic activity in the country. According to the Premier, should all the scheduled programs be implemented during the year, the Government will try to achieve the proposed growth target of 4.1 percent. “We understand that there are regional problems, but they should not prevent us from trying to do our best to ensure economic growth in the country. This is our approach,” Hovik Abrahamyan said.
The meeting approved a proposal to sign a memorandum on cooperation, licensing agreements and the Government Security Program with Microsoft. The decision was based on the memorandum of understanding signed on September 26, 2014 between Microsoft and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia in the framework of the 7th annual ArmTech-2014 global high tech industry conference in New York.
The Government decided to grant an operator’s license to Lakuser Armenia LLC for special technology-based processing and production of brandy spirit / cognac distillate on the site of RAO Mars in Alliance FEZ.
Whereas local farmers in Armavir Marz suffer significant losses every year due to hail, Armavir Marz administration was allocated AMD16 million for the purchase and installation of four anti-hail stations in Bagaran community.
The latest Cabinet meeting had decided to allocate AMD10 billion to the Central Bank in 2015 with a view to ensuring continuity in the Affordable Loans for Agriculture program. To this end, the Government decided to extend a 10 billion budget loan to the Central Bank for a certain period and with an annual interest rate of 8%.
The policy of air transport liberalization implies simplified procedures with an adequate level of safety requirements. The Executive amended a previous decision to improve the country’s business environment and simplify the procedures set for the airborne traffic of hazardous freight.
The Government accepted the proposal to sign an agreement on registration of ozone-depleting substances and products containing such substances in mutual trade between Member States in the Customs Union Area and Common Economic Space.
The Government of the Republic of Armenia decided that the foreign nationals included in the delegations due to attend the Sixth Pan-Armenian Summer Games on August 2-13, 2015 shall be exempt from entry visa duties.
