ArmInfo. In 2022, Armenia's defense budget will grow by 11%. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated this on October 25 in parliament presenting the draft law "On the state budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2022".
Pashinyan recalled that earlier, when presenting the state budget for 2022 to the government, he noted that the main priorities of the Cabinet in drafting the document were security reforms, infrastructure development, modernization of education and science.
In this context, as the Prime Minister pointed out, capital expenditures in Armenia in 2022 compared to 2020 will increase by 53%, and compared to 2021 - by 55% - to about 347 billion drams.
The defense budget of Armenia in 2022 will grow by 11% or by 33 billion drams, amounting to more than 345.4 billion drams (about $ 725 million). "We will consistently move towards the creation of a professional army, but we will do it with smooth, thoughtful steps, increasing the attractiveness of military service," the head of the Armenian government said.
Under the new conditions, the protection of the country's borders remains the main priority of Armenia, the prime minister said. In this regard, the republic intends to strengthen the border service. According to him, in the future, only border troops will be deployed at the country's borders. According to Pashinyan, the beginning of the process of withdrawing the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Republic of Armenia, in particular, from the Sotk-Khoznavar section, the delimitation and demarcation of the border between the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan will create favorable conditions for solving this problem.
"As for the country's defense strategy, we have already emphasized in the government program that Armenia, like any peace-loving state, will develop its Armed Forces and transform them not for aggression, but for protection from aggression. Armenia does not intend to conquer territories," said the head of the cabinet.
To note, according to the draft budget for 2022, the ratio of capital expenditures to GDP is planned to be increased to 5.1%. The role of operations with non-financial assets will significantly increase, reaching 346.5 billion drams 4.4% of GDP in 2022, thus the indicator will grow by 1.2 percentage points compared to 3.2% expected by the end of this year, of which expenditures on non-financial assets will reach 4.5% of GDP. In absolute terms, transactions with non-financial assets in 2022 will amount to 346.5 billion drams (4.4% of GDP), against 216.3 billion drams (3.4% of GDP) foreseen in the state budget for 2021 and 226 actual 2 billion drams (3.7% of GDP) for 2020. Expenses related to operations with non-financial assets will amount to 356.6 billion drams.
According to the document, the financial authorities plan to allocate 15.8% of the expenditure side of the state budget to the defense sector next year. In particular, in 2022, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia will direct funding for the implementation of five programs, for which only 345.4 billion drams (345 420.8 million drams) are provided in the draft state budget, while 222 884.8 million drams will be spent on current expenses, or 64.5% of funds, and from non-financial assets - 122,535.9 million drams or 35.5%. Expenditures will increase by 33,726.7 million drams or 10.8% compared to the approved state budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2021. The lion's share of funding will be directed to the maintenance of the RA Armed Forces, military, combat equipment, vehicles, communication system equipment, barracks and technical property, purchase of food, equipment, fuel and lubricants, procurement of weapons and ammunition, ensuring the combat capability and life support of the army - more 340 billion drams (340 569.3 million drams, which is 34 087.8 million drams or 11.1% more than the amount approved by the RA state budget for 2021). It is planned to allocate 2 billion 635.4 million drams from the budget for military medical services, which is 199.8 million drams less than the amount approved by the state budget for the current year.
