Category: 2021

 19:57,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 31, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Hambardzum Matevosyan issues a congratulatory message on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Deputy PM, the message runs as follows,

“Dear compatriots,

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!

The passing year 2021, despite its controversies, was a year of overcoming the political crisis for Armenia. After the military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, the tension in the domestic political life of Armenia was possible to overcome through elections, a tool typical of accomplished democracies. In this regard, the political forces of Armenia showed will and civic collective maturity, turning to the people for settling internal political disputes and relying on their wisdom. The free _expression_ of the will of the people and the successful voting proved that the electoral institution in Armenia works effectively, exercising power exclusively by the vote of the citizen. The local elections, which completed the final stage of community enlargement reforms, were a testament to the institution's integrity.

The coronavirus pandemic and the war in 2020 had a significant negative impact on the socio-economic situation of our country. This year, however, allowed to stabilize the situation, to bring back the socio-economic order of the country to the rails of development and growth. Thanks to the relative stability and the results of the measures taken by the Government, the current state of the economy creates real expectations for setting and achieving ambitious targets for the coming year.

Dear compatriots,

Hours later we will enter 2022, a year of both opportunities and challenges. Our task should be to adequately prepare and withstand the challenges, as well as to make use of the given opportunities consistently and in a well-calculatedly manner to ensure the security of Armenia, to increase the welfare of our people, to create the necessary environment for peaceful and creative work.

New Year has always been associated with family, warmth and caring. In this regard, I wish that the light of hope should always be bright in all your families, that the achievements should be tangible, and that the goals should always be achieved. I want your cherished dreams to come true next year, success to be your companion, difficulty to be easy to overcome. Finally, may 2022 be a year of peace, security, health and prosperity for our state and people.

Happy New Year!”.

 21:38,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 31, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian issued a congratulatory message on New Year. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President’s Office, the message runs as follows,

“Dear compatriots in Armenia, Artsakh, and in the Diaspora, 

The year of 2021 is coming to its close. For our people, Armenia and Artsakh, it was a most difficult year, with a hard period of the aftermath of the war and pandemic. 

My deepest respect to the eternal memory of our sons who sacrificed their lives for the Homeland. 

I share that deep sorrow with you. I offer my condolences to the families and relatives of many of our compatriots who fell victim to the pandemic.

I wish good health to all the wounded and sick.

I will continue my international efforts for the quick return of all our captive compatriots and finding the missing. 

Dear compatriots,

Thirty years ago these days, we celebrated the New Year for the first time as citizens of the independent Republic of Armenia. Achievements and victories and, unfortunately, losses mark these thirty years. 

Today, our country is facing most serious ordeals and challenges once again. We need will to overcome those ordeals. We must have a clear vision and a plan, be honest and responsible.  It is necessary to have a deep awareness of national identity and statehood. Identity is the passport of the state, and the state is the guarantor of national identity. 

We must become a competitive country using our great global potential. Therefore, it is necessary to open the doors of the Homeland for all our compatriots.  And for this, you must first change the Constitution, so that our compatriots in the Diaspora, and all our people could freely be part of our country and serve their Homeland. 

The amendment of the Constitution will also contribute to a more effective governance of the state, to balancing state structures, to more flexible and interconnected, more understandable and responsible activities. 

It's high time to realize that our strongest weapon is ourselves, our army, our work and our mind.  It's time to become a state, whom they believe and trust, which is a reliable bulwark for all its citizens, around which we all unite.  I truly believe that together we can build our future. 

Believe in your strength, respect our country, respect every compatriot. And the world will respect us more: as a people and as a state. 

Dear compatriots,

New Year is a holiday of hope, faith, and expectations. I am confident that we can overcome today's challenges. I am confident that we can become a stable and peaceful, prosperous and dignified country with strong, and invulnerable borders.  I believe that together we can build a strong Armenia. I see that way.  For our country, and for our people, for every one of you, and for your families, let 2022 be a year of health, peace, and success, a year of abundance and progress.  Let warmth and solidarity, attention, care and Love to each other reign in all our families! 

Happy New Year!”.

 22:57,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 31, ARMENPRESS. Accompanied by the Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited military positions, as well as the N military regiment of the Ministry of Defense on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the Office of the Prime Minister. 

Nikol Pashinyan met with the soldiers and commanders serving in the military positions, toured the military bases, got acquainted with the work done on the front line, the conditions for carrying out service, as well as the living conditions of the servicemen.

Nikol Pashinyan encouraged a group of officers and soldiers who stood out with their devotion, courage and bravery during their service. The Prime Minister wished the servicemen good and safe service and health. "Gentlemen officers, sergeants, privates, I congratulate all of you on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas. I wish you an honorable and trouble-free service. Please, convey congratulations to your family on behalf of my and the Government and wish the best for 2022. May you have a good service and return to your homes," said the Prime Minister, thanking them for the dedicated service.

On the eve of the New Year, Nikol Pashinyan took part in a festive dinner with the servicemen.

89 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

 11:27,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. 89 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 344,826, the Armenian Ministry of Healthcare said on December 30.

7 people died, raising the death toll to 7968.

196 patients recovered (total 331,348).

As of December 30 the number of active cases stood at 4005.

7216 tests were administered (total 2,560,870)

 11:51,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Only around 800 people received a booster shot against COVID-19 in Armenia, Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan said at the Cabinet member.

“The vaccination process continues and is the most important measure for avoiding future new waves. We are actively working in terms of boosters. Around 800 people have received the booster shot already,” she said, calling on citizens to get the shot.

Speaking about the first and second dose vaccination figures, Avanesyan said that as of the latest data 943,377 people received the first dose while 711,864 people received the second dose in Armenia.

She said there’ve been 184,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 2021, with nearly 40,000 patients being treated in hospitals. “This shows how overloaded the entire healthcare system worked,” Avanesyan said, thanking health workers for saving lives.

 12:17,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The 2021 state budget’s revenues envisaged 1 trillion 440 billion drams, however the figure was overperformed by 146 billion drams as of December 30.

Thus, the revenues for 2021 stand at 1 trillion 586 billion drams, the State Revenue Committee Chairman Rustam Badasyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

In terms of returns, Badasyan described the figures as “record” numbers.

“We returned 182 billion drams to taxpayers, this is mostly in terms of VAT. We plan to return another 3 billion drams today. Thus, the year’s figure will stand at 185 billion drams,” he said, adding that the figure stood at 140 billion in 2020 and 180 billion in 2019.

 12:42,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Finance says the performance of capital spending as of December 30 is 86%.

“We ought to set a bar for ourselves with this indicator for next year,” Finance Minister Tigran Khachatryan said at the Cabinet meeting. “For 2022 the unique difference of our budget is that a high level of capital spending exists. Some argue that this would create difficulties for the government, it is a challenge. And we must succeed that our planned indicator won’t happen to be lower than our ensured performance. I am asking our colleagues to be attentive towards this indicator from day one,” he said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that the indicator is not perfect but that there are changes compared to the previous years.

 12:55,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Record numbers in jobs and the average monthly income were recorded in 2021, the State Revenue Committee Chairman Rustam Badasyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

“With November 2021 data there were 654 thousand jobs in Armenia. We already have the average monthly job indicator for 2021, which stands at 634 thousand. For comparison, the average monthly indicator in 2020 was 609 thousand, and in 2019 – 602 thousand,” he said.

The average monthly income indicator per one job was 214,000 drams. In 2020 the figure stood at 203,000 while in 2019 it was 190,000.

PM Pashinyan noted that they should take into account the inflation. According to him, the inflation is a global phenomenon related to the COVID-19 pandemic, since companies had to shut down, and there is a shortage of goods and as a consequence the prices are growing.

 14:30,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Poland is hopeful that the delimitation and demarcation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan will have a positive solution, Poland’s Ambassador to Armenia Pawel Cieplak said at a news conference in Yerevan’s Media Center.

“We very well realize that a swift return of the captives is a priority issue for the citizens and government of Armenia,” he said when asked what role Poland can play as the presiding country of the OSCE in 2022 for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the solution of related humanitarian issues and the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“I think that the upcoming meeting [OSCE conference] in Vienna on January 13 will be significant in this process and I wouldn’t want to get ahead and mention our priorities as long as my government hasn’t done so,” Ambassador Cieplak said.

He said Poland will present detailed information on their stance over the situation and security environment in South Caucasus in January, when the Polish foreign minister will travel to Vienna to assume the OSCE chairmanship and present their priorities.

He said that the given issue has been discussed between Poland’s FM Zbigniew Rau and Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan during their meetings this year in Vienna and Stockholm.