ARMENIA’S AUTHORITIES STILL FOCUSING ON POVERTY, PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SAYS

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 12 2007

YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. The poverty issue still remains
the focus of Armenia’s authorities, said RA NA (National Assembly)
Speaker Tigran Torosian during the RPA (Republican Party of Armenia)
sitting on November 10.

According to him, the poverty index has reduced twice recently, but
every fourth citizen is poor and pension is too small to cover the
material needs of the population.

The living standards and educational level in Armenia are not
satisfactory, according to Torosian. In this connection, he believes
it is necessary to amend the country’s political, economic and legal
systems. Only after this it will be possible to implement the second
stage of reforms the goals and objectives of which are set in the
RPA pre-election program, the RA NA Speaker said.

Poverty level in Armenia totaled 24% in 2006 – 4.6% reduction as
compared to 2005. By 2012, the RA Government plans to reduce poverty
and extreme poverty by 11.5% and 1.5% respectively.