Among the difficult challenges of the RA Government in 2023 were the issues of social support for our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. Financial allocations in this direction were one of the important issues of the 2023 state budget. The total sum of expenses for the settlement of humanitarian and social problems regarding the forcibly displaced persons was about 39 billion AMD: The RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan said this during the debate of the annual report on the execution of the RA 2023 state budget at the NA sitting of June 12.
The rapporteur stated that the RA Government’s response to solving the social problems of our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh was quick and systematic.
“One month ago, the Government approved the long-term housing support programme for the forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh, the implementation of which will start in a few days. Those of our compatriots who intend to establish a long-term residence in Armenia will be beneficiaries of the support programme,” Tigran Khachatryan underlined.
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Programme support is provided in three directions: purchase of apartments, construction of a house or repayment of the existing mortgage loan for apartments purchased in the past.
The Deputy Prime Minister also referred to the capital expenditures implemented in the 2023 state budget.
The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan underscored that 2023 was quite a successful year with the volume of works carried out in a number of directions, which contributed to the development of various infrastructures of the country’s economy and communities.
The budget allocated to the Ministry in 2023 was quite large – about 275 billion AMD, which made it possible to carry out a large volume of works in various directions and ensure 98.2% performance.
Gnel Sanosyan, touching upon the recent disaster and the emergency rehabilitation works, noted that the Government has declared a disaster zone in 39 settlements of 9 communities in two regions, where 113 thousand citizens live.
The Governor of the Central Bank Martin Galstyan presented a conclusion on the execution of the 2023 state budget. The Governor of the Central Bank mentioned that although the pace of economic growth has slowed down due to the gradual decrease in foreign demand, it continued to be high in Armenia. The maintenance of high rates of economic growth has been facilitated by the inflow of labor, financial and capital to Armenia, the significant growth of tourism, as well as the increasing demand for exports from Armenia.
In 2023, the economic growth exceeded the targeted index provided by the budget, making 8.7%. In the financial year, the inflationary environment in Armenia has eased significantly, which was mainly contributed to by the monetary policy implemented by the Central Bank, deflationary effects transferred from the external sector and dram appreciation. The 12-month inflation in 2023 was -1.7, which was accompanied by a similar behavior of the 12-month normal growth and was -0.4% at the end of the year.
The rapporteur pointed out that the tax/GDP ratio increased significantly and made 23.4%. The budget deficit in relation to the GDP was 2% against the planned 3.1%.
“The report on the execution of the state budget in 2023 truthfully presents the regulated activities of the formation of inputs and outputs of the 2023 state budget and the Audit Chamber expresses a positive conclusion regarding the implementation of the 2023 state budget. This is one of the 4 possible opinions”, The Chairman of the Audit Chamber Atom Janjughazyan presented the opinion of the structure.
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia