Thursday, 5 April 2018
PM instructs to tighten control of safety standards in places of public importance
A Cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. Before proceeding to the agenda, the Prime Minister issued a number of instructions.
The Premier’s first instruction referred to the compliance with safety requirements. “8 people were injured as a result of an explosion three days ago in a catering facility downtown Yerevan. In connection with the incident, criminal proceedings have been instituted, and the responsible authorities are making the necessary efforts in accordance with the instructions. At the same time, this incident provides the basis for toughening State control of fire and safety regulations,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
To this end, Karen Karapetyan gave the Minister of Emergency Situations two months’ time to ensure strict compliance with fire and safety regulations by entities dealing with hazardous substances and catering facilities, as well as by service and maintenance providers.
“Tight deadlines should be set for elimination of any irregularities identified during the checks and, if not observed, they should result in stricter sanctions envisaged by law. The Health Inspection Authority will have to be involved in safety inspections,” the Head of Government said.
The Prime Minister also gave instructions regarding the establishment of a single digital platform for local e-government, construction activities and development of master plans in Marzes, as well as the activities of central executive agencies in 2018.
The Government came up with a legislative initiative to amend the RA constitutional law on Human Rights Defender and the RA law on Operative-Investigative Activities. The proposed bills stipulate that the Human Rights Defender shall monitor the implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and shall be responsible for preventing eventual violations of the rights of persons with disabilities.
The Executive agreed to a proposal to conclude an agreement between the governments of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Colombia on a visa-free regime for holders of diplomatic and official passports. The expediency of concluding the agreement is conditioned by the need to develop and promote cooperative relations between Armenia and Colombia.
The Government agreed to the proposal to sign Amendment N11 to the agreement on assistance in issues of a more competitive and diverse private sector between the governments of the Republic of Armenia and the United States of America. The document provides for the allocation of additional funding in the amount of 10,677,328.00 US dollars. These funds will be used to finance the program, which will be implemented by the US Agency for International Development in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture and tourism.
The Executive decided to allocate funds to Syunik Marz administration with the aim of developing agriculture in Meghri region and providing compensation for the cost of electricity used by the local farmers in operating individual irrigation pumps in 2016. A total of 76 beneficiaries will get compensation.
In order to ensure the realization of the right to pension for those Armenian citizens working in international organizations, the Government passed a resolution on recognition of the authorized entity of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
At the end of the Cabinet sitting, Prime Minister Karapetyan advised that the Government will resign in the days to come in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for joint work,” the Prime Minister said, urging the Cabinet members to continue working with as much energy, dedication and consistency.
