Republican Party of Armenia

A Cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

The government approved amendments to the law on Foreigners and two other legal acts to encourage foreign citizens to make investments in Armenia.

Noting that this is part of his government’s effort to boost the construction sector, the Prime Minister Prime Minister said in particular, “Published by the National Statistics Service, the 2013 indicators for the construction sector indicate that there are still some issues of concern in this area. In particular, there is a decline of 8.5 percent, with agriculture and industry standing as the main drivers of economic growth. Construction continued downward even after the crisis mainly due to lower demand for luxury apartments. On the other hand, we can see ever growing demand for economy class housing amid short supply. Therefore, we are working on a program to promote construction activities. Many proposals have been received, a portion of which is being tackled in a legislative manner, with the rest to be implemented in practice. This legislative initiative is part of our comprehensive plan.”

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The meeting next approved a set of amendments to the law on Joint Stock Companies to invalidate two paragraphs of Article 35. Concerning the matter, Tigran Sargsyan highlighted a serious problem evoking a consultative meeting held earlier this week on the financial status of public or partly State-owned enterprises: “It seems that we still have several entities working at a loss, while our representatives or the ministries are not exercising proper oversight. We need to be more exacting with regard to such enterprises. If a company appears to be working at a loss, the manager should be replaced immediately. If there is not a reasonable explanation as to what causes the company to suffer losses, the matter should become a subject of discussion at once. We must ensure effective management of public property.”

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The Cabinet went in to discuss a bill introduced in the form of a legislative initiative by a number of MPs concerning the refund of deposits made with the former SU Savings Bank before June 10, 1993.

Noting that the policy of continued deposit refunds is in line with the Executive’s welfare focus as stipulated in the National Assembly-approved government program, the meeting rejected the initiative giving the reasons for the refusal.

In this connection, the Prime Minister said, “Every year we establish those target groups to be incorporated in the Savings Bank-related social assistance program. We have already assumed a commitment to that effect allowing for the necessary amounts in the State budget bill. For this very reason, I see no need for anticipated legislative initiatives. As far as the very essence of the proposal is concerned, it goes without saying that we should identify the social groups eligible under the given program of assistance. Therefore, we will submit the aforementioned program to the National Assembly for approval along with the 2014 budget bill.”

The above draft laws and the government’s conclusion will be submitted to the National Assembly in the manner established by law.

In conclusion, it was announced that this September 28, 14:00 local time, the government will come together in a special Cabinet meeting to discuss the 2014 budget bill.