The RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan touched upon the current cooperation of Armenia with the international colleagues and the programmes to be implemented within the framework of the debate of the draft law on State Budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2024, which are directly or indirectly connected with budgetary processes and targets.
“I would like to stress once again that the programmes being jointly implemented with the international colleagues, of course, are important with their financial component, but they are of much more of key importance in the sense of content from the viewpoint of the implementation of the institutional reforms of our country and the international best standards. These are programmes and measures, which are directly affected and they should have a positive impact on the quality of our citizens’ life,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. He, particularly, presented the programmes and measures implementing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“I am sure that the result of the budget execution for 2023 and the budget to be approved will promote the increase in the international ranking of our country, will continue strengthening the authority of our country as a stable and reliable partner,” the Deputy Prime Minister concluded his speech.
It is designed to allocate 345 billion 417 million AMD to the sphere of education, science, culture and sport, which increased compared with the current year by 95 billion 148 million AMD or 38 percent.
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“The RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan stated at the debate on the draft law on RA State Budget for 2024 that the works had already been completed in 122 kindergartens, where thousands of children attend. These pre-school institutions were built in rural communities, where kindergartens had not ever been. Next year, a hundred kindergartens also will be operated.
It was noted that in 26 schools the construction works were completed, 8 schools will operate by the end of the year. It is designed to complete construction of 21 schools in 2024.
All the schools of Armavir Marz have laboratories with their equipment. The marzes of Aragatsotn, Ararat, Kotayk, Gegharkunik, Lori and Shirak marzes have laboratories of natural sciences and Information Technologies (IT) with modern equipment.
According to the Minister, the noise in the textbook printing is much for one simple reason, monopoly of years was broken. 1044 AMD for the printing of one textbook was paid from the state budget for many years. Only 741 AMD was paid for the creation, examination and printing of the textbook this year.
Touching upon the teachers’ attestation, she noted that there are more than 5000 attested teachers, who have salary increase and the possibility of receiving an additional payment. The introduction of voluntary attestation system was also considered important. According to the Minister, this year the implementation of the new programme of the surcharge has already started.
It was also noted that in 2024, 1 billion 159 million AMD will be allocated for the current year, which is twice more than the allocation of the current year. 13 monuments will be stuck and restored, and the elaboration of elaboration will begin for 9 of them.
According to the RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, on the previous week the Government approved the strategy of the Culture Development and Preservation, which gave answers to numerous questions.
In 2024, the foundation of the Culture Development will be created, and the system of the electronic tickets will be introduced.
It was noted on sport that this year we only have 400 medals of different categories.
In this sphere the capital expenditures and the monetary encouragements are many.
In his extraordinary speech the Deputy Prime Minister spoke about the capital expenditures submitted for approval and the support being shown to the forcibly displaced ones from Nagorno Karabakh by the draft budget for 2024. He noted that the rise of the capital expenditure level being addressed to the infrastructures was emphasized by the activity programme of the Government for 2021-2026 to increase the economic potential. “In 2021-2023 the growth of the factual, as well as the capital expenditures designed in 2024 approve the noticeable progress for the implementation of the Government commitment,” the Deputy Prime Minister informed, that the theoretical budget capital expenditures for 2024 are 695.3 billion AMD, which is 6.6% of the GDP. The capital expenditures for 2023 will be 5.9 percent of the GDP. During three-year programme the capital expenditures against the GDP will be doubled in 2024.
“At the end of September, when the forcible displacement of more than 100.000 our compatriots became a painful reality. The Government made efforts in order our displaced compatriots are provided with proper living conditions,” Tigran Khachatryan mentioned, adding that we can record that solutions were given to a number urgent issues. 16.936 pupils forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh are registered today in Yerevan general educational institutions and get education, 1014 students continue getting education in secondary professional educational institutions, and 1797 students – in the higher educational institutions. 145 from our forcibly displaced compatriots applied to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport for working as a teacher, and 105 out of them had already been sent to relevant work. 56.440 were registered in polyclinics and outpatient clinics, more than 100 medical professionals work in different health organizations.
The Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan spoke about the importance of the country’s budget. Then she informed that as a priority is about a human being, how the right of his/her right of being born, growing up healthy, getting educated, creating and livening happily will be executed and noted that the realization of these rights witnesses the budget of yearly increasing budget from 2018.
“In 2024, 168 billion AMD will be directed to Ministry of Health. The growth compared with the previous year is 18.4%, the budget compared with 2018 was doubled. The Government consistently fulfills its promise – to maintain and to restore the citizens’ health, to stand by the person’s side, when there is need for treatment, to save lives, to promote the birth rate increase, to provide dignified care, when the opportunities of treatment were exhausted,” the Head of the Ministry said.
During the report it was noted that compared with 2018, during 10 months of 2023, more than 232.832 cases were served, the compensation amount of cases essentially has increased, operations implying expensive new technologies were included. The implementation of the systemized reforms was highlighted. In this context Anahit Avanesyan informed that the Republic of Armenia will turn to progressive health system boosting the health care, ensuring on time irrespective of the patient’s solvency at the moment of illness, the opportunity of receiving necessary medical aid.
“The insurance introduction will be carried out by phase version. It will start in 2024. The Government already has adopted the concept.
Soon a big legislative package will be sent to the National Assembly for debates. In 2025, within the framework of state care, and the citizens receiving pension will be involved. In 2027, we’ll have completely operated, comprehensive, universal insurance system,” Anahit Avanesyan informed and added that there is no insurance package covering the list of all illnesses, but the envisaging insurance package is rather inclusive and is based on the whole volume of the disease burden existing in the Republic of Armenia.
Reference was made also to the capital works. In this context the Minister noted that in 2024, the constructions of medical centres will continue and informed that next year 8 new medical centres will operate in our country.
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
