A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The Government made changes to one of the previously adopted decisions in order to regulate the sphere of use and sustainable management of living resources in Lake Sevan. According to the substantiation, the processes being implemented are aimed at the sustainable use of fish and crab stocks in Lake Sevan, as well as bringing the fishing processes into the legal framework and implementing the fishing process based on the contracts concluded with the authorized body, as well as the implementation of proper control over the use of the resource, which is an object of food security. Accordingly, the amount of commercial fishing of whitefish in Lake Sevan was confirmed.
As noted by the Minister of Environment Hakob Simidyan, the quantity is approved based on the scientific studies of the National Academy of Science. Accordingly, until September 1, 2024, fishermen can apply for a legal catch within the quota of about 257 tons. Nikol Pashinyan referred to illegal whitefish hunting and noted that it was possible to exclude whitefish hunting by at least 95% or more during the whitefish spawning period in Lake Sevan, which was possible thanks to the introduction of patrol police.
The Government adopted a decision, by which it is planned to turn qualified specialists of the Nuclear and Radiological Departments, technical department, into civil workers and increase their remuneration. Extra payment for civilian staff of the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee has been established. According to the reasoning, the proposed regulation will allow first of all to stop the continuous outflow of the few specialists present in the Committee and to stabilize the declining situation by attracting the relevant specialists. Khachatur Khachikyan, the first deputy chairman of the Nuclear Security Regulation Committee, noted that it has been impossible to fill the Committee’s vacant posts for years. In 2021-2023, 55 employment competitions were announced, of which 21 were not held at all due to the lack of applicants or incompatibility of participants.
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The Prime Minister highlighted the adopted decision and specifically noted. “Why is this decision regarding the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee important? We have set a task to have a new nuclear power plant and to build a new nuclear power plant. Here too, tomorrow, the next day, we will face a situation where the money is there, the project is there, everything is there, but we are not able to implement it because we do not have specialists. We have a project to implement, and the training of specialists is also a part of it.”
The Government adopted a decision proposing to extend the period of activity of the state support program for the development of intensive horticulture, the introduction of modern technologies and the promotion of the production of non-traditional high-value crops in Armenia, and to enable businessmen to submit applications for state support until the end of 2025 instead of 2023. The mechanisms of project implementation will also be specified.
