Wednesday, May 15 2024 19:08

ArmInfo. In recent years, the economy of the Republic of Armenia has recorded  a great growth. Since the non-violent Velvet Revolution of 2018, the Armenian economy has grown by almost 30%, state budget revenues have increased by more than 91%, and about 200 thousand jobs have been opened, which means an increase in the total number of jobs by about 37%.

Prime Minister  of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated  on May 15,  speaking at the Annual Meeting of the European Bank for  Reconstruction and Development.

According to him, the average nominal wage has increased by about 87%  compared to 2017, and GDP per capita has almost doubled. "And keep in  mind that during this time we also experienced the coronavirus  epidemic, a 44-day war, a humanitarian crisis and the deportation of  more than 100 thousand Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, the  occupation of more than 200 square kilometers of the sovereign  territories of the Republic of Armenia, internal political and  regional escalation. But thanks to reforms, we were able to cope with  all the problems mentioned. I must, however, note that high economic  indicators were recorded precisely thanks to the changes that the  non-violent, velvet revolution of 2018 brought and the government's  adherence to the course of popular reforms. It was after the  revolution that all businessmen in Armenia got the opportunity to  conduct economic activities freely and without restrictions. Prior to  this, the most profitable sectors of the economy in the Republic of  Armenia were actually subject to shadow quotas; the import and export  of many products was impossible without the permission of the  political authorities.  Since 2018, these phenomena have been  eradicated in Armenia, and now in our country all those people who  have the necessary skills, abilities and desire can make a profit. It  is thanks to these people that the economy has developed, state  budget revenues have increased, and these people are the locomotive  of the development of our country," Pashinyan said.

He noted that economic growth is influenced by various factors. "But  in Armenia, by and large, the rate of economic growth is directly  proportional to the progress of democratic reforms. We have  significantly reduced the shadow, we are tirelessly fighting  corruption. In Transparency International's Global Corruption  Perceptions Index, the Republic of Armenia has risen by 45 points  since 2018, rising from 107th places at 62nd. As a result of all  these measures, the potential of the Armenian economy has increased  significantly, and the realization of this potential is a new  challenge for our country, since its proper implementation is of  paramount importance from the point of view of the future development  of Armenia. To solve this problem, we set three key tasks: reforms in  the education sector, development of institutional capacities,  implementation of the peace agenda.  He, in particular, noted that in  the field of education, Armenia is at the most active stage of  improving the content and physical infrastructure. "We have adopted  new standards for preschool education and general education, and have  begun certification of teachers, one of the key goals of which is to  double teachers' salaries by checking their qualifications. Also, in  order to ensure accessibility of education throughout the republic,  we have undertaken the construction of 500 kindergartens and 300  schools, and by the way, in the implementation of this project we  often feel gaps in the education sector. In any case, the fact is  that compared to 2017, the budgetary funding of the education sector  has more than doubled in 2024, or more precisely, increased by 119%.  Funding for science has increased by 147% compared to 2017, and even  here, the processes of sometimes tripling scientists' salaries are  underway. In this context, we attach particular importance to reforms  in vocational education and training, as well as higher education. We  are in the active stage of discussing the Academic City construction  project. The idea is to build an academic city from scratch, which  will concentrate the country's university and IT center, and will  also become a favorite place for intellectual entertainment. I would  like to draw the attention of investors to this project, the  preparation of a master plan for which will be completed in the near  future. Reforms in the field of education are key for us, since a new  quality of education is necessary from the point of view of ensuring  the further progress of our country. Education is also a tool for  democracy, anti-corruption practices and institutional capacity  building. After all, the work on all these agendas is done by people,  and the more highly qualified specialists there are, the easier it is  to implement any, even the most ambitious projects.  But the idea is  not only that the next generation will have a much higher level of  education and will be more competitive in the global and local labor  market and thus make our economy more competitive. The problem is  that during the reform of the education sector, we also learn, and in  general, our strategic concept of the education sector is to make  education a lifelong process and a state ideology. As I have already  said, on the way to implementing the reform and development program,  we very often feel gaps in our education system, in our established  attitude towards education, both in the public and private sectors,"  the Prime Minister noted.

Pashinyan emphasized that the private sector in Armenia today also  needs highly qualified specialists, and this is often necessary to  reduce production costs, enter new markets, and develop production  and work standards. "Of course, the government implements programs  aimed at all this, but also our abilities to implement and improve  these programs need to be developed. And development is not possible  without education, without learning.No creative change is possible  without learning," said the head of the Armenian Cabinet.