Accompanied by his spouse Anna Hakobyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited Vanadzor to attend festivities dedicated to Vanadzor Day. Taking the opportunity, the Premier got acquainted with the city development plan.

The Premier first called at the Vanadzor Museum of Fine Arts after Karlos Abovyan, where reconstruction works are being carried out with a government subsidy, co-financed by the Vanadzor Municipality. 92 million drams have been earmarked for the project. The Head of Government inspected the site, which is due to be complete by this yearend.

The Vanadzor Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1974 and is one of the most important cultural centers in Lori region, featuring both classical and contemporary Armenian art works. The Museum boasts about 1800 exhibits - paintings, graphics and sculptures, as well as decorative and applied art pieces by local and non-native artists.

Nikol Pashinyan and Anna Hakobyan next visited the Vanadzor Armenia Resort Complex and attended the opening of the renovated medical facility. The Prime Minister was briefed on the investment program and healthcare services. He was told that USD 5 million shall be invested within about a decade in order to rehabilitate all 9 facilities.

Known as a center of mud therapy, Vanadzor Armenia Resort boasts a long-standing tradition of peat therapy. In addition to mud therapy, there are hydrotherapy, paraffin therapy and climatology sections.

In addition to medical rooms, the renovated complex offers new standard, deluxe and luxury class hotel rooms. The resort will be open all year round.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today visited the family of firefighter-rescuer Samvel Develyan, who died on October 25 during firefighting operations in the mountains near the city of Vanadzor, Lori Marz.

The Premier expressed condolences and words of support to the family, relatives and friends of 22-year-old sergeant of rescue service, firefighter-rescuer at the Gugark Firefighting and Rescue Squad Samvel Develyan.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Mrs. Anna Hakobyan partook in the festivities held on the occasion of Vanadzor Day.

The Prime Minister and his spouse first visited the City of Opportunities exhibition, toured the stands on Tigran Mets Avenue getting familiarized with the exhibits, cultural and handicraft works. The Premier greeted the locals, congratulated them on City Day and wished them every success.

The Premier next called at the construction site of Artsakh Park, where for the first time since Soviet times rehabilitation work is underway, co-financed under the government’s subvention program and the Vanadzor City Hall. The total project cost is 43 million drams. After the reconstruction, the residents of Vanadzor will have a well-maintained, landscaped, illuminated park, furnished with modern benches and trash bins. Artsakh Park is included in the list of monuments as a monument of local importance and is considered a symbol of the Artsakh movement.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Ms. Anna Hakobyan walked from Tigran Mets Avenue as far as Hayk Square, where they attended the main event dedicated to City Day, which featured a gala concert, as well as the inauguration of new fountains and fireworks.

The Prime Minister delivered congratulatory remarks, in which he stated:
“Dear Vanadzor residents,
Proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia,
Congratulations on our beloved city of Vanadzor!

My dear people,

Today we saw Vanadzor in a festive mood. Why is there a festive mood in Vanadzor today? Firstly, we have the opportunity to meet, smile at each other, quench our longing for each other as we have not seen each other for a long time.

Important changes are taking place in the city: we saw that the Museum of Fine Arts was being repaired, and we saw the renovated Artsakh Park. Wonderful fountains will be launched today. Roads leading to Vanadzor are being rehabilitated.

How does this change affect people’s lives? There is an accurate saying “Vanadzor is a city of opportunities.” These changes will open up new opportunities for the residents of Vanadzor, as these fountains, the rehabilitated roads and streets, the museum, and Artsakh Park will bring new people and tourists to Vanadzor, which will enable small and medium-sized businesses to be activated, and will allow people to earn their daily bread in a dignified way.

This was our chief objective: we had agreed that we should provide opportunities for the citizens of the Republic of Armenia residing in Vanadzor and everywhere to engage in educational and business activities instead of asking the government and the rich for pecuniary assistance. Today I saw that many people from other cities came to congratulate us on Vanadzor Day, and this is the beginning of a very good tradition.

In fact, we love our native district, our city, but we must expand the boundaries of our love in a way to ensure that the inhabitants of Yerevan could be fond of Vanadzor, Vanadzor residents should love Gyumri, Gyumri residents should love Kapan, people in Kapan should be fond of Yeghegnadzor , the residents of Yeghegnadzor should love Ararat, people in Ararat should be fond of Armavir, the residents of Armavire should love Ashtarak, the inhabitants of Ashtarak should love Armavir, the residents of Armavir should love Ashtarak, people in Ashtarak should be fond of Idjevan, the residents of Idjevan should love Berd, the inhabitants of which should love Idjevan who in turn should be fond of Noyemberyan, and the latter’s residents should love Alaverdi and so on, just because we do not divide our homeland into districts and regions.

We have a common homeland, and Vanadzor is the hometown of not only the citizens of Vanadzor, but also every citizen of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh, the hometown of every Armenian, and we all love Vanadzor. Let us hold to this nice tradition, which originated in Gyumri and continues in Vanadzor. The entire nation should rally on the Day of each Armenian city.

Dear Vanadzor residents,
Proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia,
Congratulations on our beloved city day and, most importantly, let us strive for the better!

Illuminated multimedia fountains, unprecedented in the region, were inaugurated in Vanadzor’s Hayk Square. The Hayk Square modernization project, including the commissioning of the fountains, was financed under the government’s subvention program..

Nikol Pashinyan and Anna Hakobyan attended a concert held on the occasion of Vanadzor Day, which ended with fireworks.