State support tends up

A Cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

The Government approved two land-user support programs for the purchase of cost-effective diesel fuel and nitrogenous fertilizers in 2013. The Minister of Agriculture was told to select eligible importers for the implementation of subsidy programs.

It is planned to provide land users with more than 17 million liters of diesel fuel and 11 tons of ammonia saltpeter Moreover, diesel fuel will be available at AMD 350 per liter, while the fertilizers will be provided at the cost of 6 thousand drams for a 50 kilogram-bag.

According to Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, the main feature of these two programs is that the level of State support has augmented significantly which means that either cultivated areas have increased in size.

The government approved a small and medium business support program and a timetable for 2013. The program seeks to provide the tools necessary for SME development, revive the economy of remote and border areas through harmonious management, diversify the national economy, boost employment and self-employment in the country.

By making the next step, the Government highlights the role of SMEs in ensuring economic development, generating new jobs, raising the living standards, shaping a middle class, providing for social and political stability in the country.

Redistributing the 2013 State budget and amending a previous decree, the Government allocated funds to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs that will be used to ensure better working conditions in those 11 welfare centers to be operational by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Note that the centers will be providing one-stop-shop services to vulnerable households.

The meeting agreed to donate a nearly 3,400 square meter-wide plot of land at Arshakunyats Avenue N28 to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, establishing that the land can be used for charitable purposes, namely to build the Komitas Museum-Institute and a cultural center. The project has already been approved by the Yerevan Town Hall’s Architectural Board.

The meeting passed a decision to authorize the Institute for National Strategic Studies after General Drastamat Kanayan to participate in the founding of the CSTO Academy based on the CSTO Secretary-General’s request to the President of the Republic of Armenia regarding the establishment of such an academy in Yerevan.

The project is co-financed by the “CSTO Institute” autonomous non-profit organization and its Yerevan branch, as well as the Public Diplomacy Support Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The project has been discussed and endorsed by the Armenia National Security Council Secretary, as well as the foreign ministers of Russia and Kazakhstan.

Amending a previous decree, the Executive approved a project on the launch of a cultural college in Gyumri to cover the needs of not only talented young boys and girls from Shirak Marz, but also from the Armenian-populated Javakheti region of Georgia.