A regular Cabinet meeting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.
Before proceeding to the agenda, the Prime Minister issued a number of instructions. The first recommendation related to the implementation of the agreements reached during his official visit to the Russian Federation. The Head of Government told the Minister of Economic Development and Investments to work with relevant government agencies in Russia with a view to launching the establishment of the Armenian-Russian Investment Fund and submit monthly reports on the work done.
The Minister of Economic Development and Investments was also instructed to work with relevant structures and interested organizations in Russia to ensure the involvement of the Russian capital in the free economic zone to be created in Meghri and report progress on a monthly basis.
Karen Karapetyan instructed to discuss with the Yerevan Town Hall, other ministries and government agencies measures aimed at improving the business environment during 2017, focusing specifically on the index of the World Bank’s corresponding report, under which we have low results.
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“Develop recommendations on necessary actions in order to improve and simplify the applicable administrative procedures and submit them to the Government for approval by this February 20,” the Head of Government said.
The Prime Minister next instructed the Minister of Agriculture to organize a meeting within a 15-day period with the representatives of Russia-based and other manufacturers of agricultural equipment in order to discuss the terms of supply of agricultural equipment. Those concerned were given a month’s deadline to submit a draft program of support for the leasing of agricultural machinery in Armenia. Regarding the concept on prevention of climatic disasters as envisaged in the Government Program, the Minister of Agriculture was told to make a point of developing a feasibility study relating to the effectiveness of anti-hail cannons and networks and develop a plan for significantly reducing hail damage in the most vulnerable communities.
Under notes exchanged between the Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Russia on January 24, 2017 during Prime Minister Karapetyan’s official visit to Moscow, the citizens of the Russian Federation will now be able to visit Armenia without foreign passports.
The Premier instructed the National Security Service to settle all technical issues by this March 1 in order to ensure the entry of Russian nationals to Armenia with their internal passports.
The State Tourism Committee by the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments to work with other interested structures and the private sector in order to provide a wide package of tourism services for Russian citizens. “Please submit a progress report to the Government Staff until March 1,” Karen Karapetyan said.
Taking into account the negotiations with Russian partners and the traffic bottlenecks on Stepantsminda-Lars highway section due to adverse weather conditions, the Head of Government tasked the Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies to discuss the possibility of developing alternative routes for interstate transportations with Russian and Georgian officials and submit a proposal to the Government Staff by this March 1.
Karen Karapetyan instructed the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs to hold discussions over the possibility of revising the privileges set for implementation of the Affordable Housing for Young Families State-funded program under the Government Resolution numbered N 98-N. It was specifically suggested to raise the threshold of the cost and reduce the sum of mandatory down payment. The Premier suggested discussing the matter with the Central Bank of Armenia, if necessary.
The meeting approved the draft of the second stage of “Improving the competitiveness of Armenia’s export-oriented industries through modernization and market access” program. The second stage will help the small and medium-size enterprises engaged in textile / clothing and footwear / leather sectors to modernize their businesses, expand production, improve quality and market access with the assistance of local experts.
To provide for online maintenance of cash books, the Government amended one of its previous decisions. The decision comes following the adoption of the law “On amending the RA Law on Currency Transactions,” which will make it possible to keep electronic records.
The Government is set to sign agreements on air services with the governments of Singapore and Canada.
The Executive approved the proposal on signing these agreements. The agreements seek to fully and adequately streamline air communications with Singapore and Canada, the introduction of the principle of “open skies” policy and the provision of a level playing field for air carriers.
