Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his spouse Anna Hakobyan today visited border communities in Tavush Marz of Armenia. The Premier was accompanied by Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan, Tavush Marz Governor Hayk Chobanyan, and Acting Urban Development Committee Chairman Armen Ghularyan.

The Prime Minister and Mrs. Hakobyan first visited Chinar. The Premier talked to the locals, took note of their concerns and answered their questions. Nikol Pashinyan first thanked the residents of the border community for their strong support of our Armed Forces during the July victorious battles.

“First of all, I wish to thank you for contributing to the victorious battles of July, because if our troops had not been convinced that they had a strong backing, they would not have been so strong. First of all, thank you for that. Secondly, we acknowledge that the state must live up to its commitments in emergency situations. In general, we should support people in a way to strengthen their labor incentives, since very often the logic of charity is harmful.

It is extremely important for us to strike the right balance between the state’s obligations and the citizen’s liabilities. We must acknowledge that the solution to all problems goes through work in the Republic of Armenia. Each of us must try to solve our problem within the framework of our responsibility. The state is supposed to support the citizen, and the latter must back the state. No progress may be achieved, if the state leaves the solution of the problems to the citizen, and vice versa. The government must acknowledge and fulfill its commitments. In turn, the citizens must comply with their civic duties,” the Prime Minister noted.

The Premier believes that a special policy should be implemented in border communities. “What are we recording today? For the first time since the 90s, a house is being built from scratch in the village of Chinari. And you should not be anxious about the fact that the neighbor’s house is being built and not yours. Remember our motto: “Armenia is my home, the Armenian is my family,” the Premier said.

Coming to the opportunities available in border villages, the Head of Government noted that an important change has been made for women. When a child is born, the mother will be entitled to 50,000 drams as a monthly childcare allowance, while unemployed mothers will get 26,000 drams per month.

“For me, Chinari has been an exemplary community in recent years. Our task is to ensure that the 600 tons of figs exported last year turns into 6000 tons. The solution to your problems lies in the soil. Our task is to make your fig orchards a mechanism for you to print banknotes,” Nikol Pashinyan noted.

The village mayor advised that the problem of procurement has been solved with the figs harvested in Chinary being exported to the Russian Federation. In this connection, the Prime Minister stressed that the July victory should lead to Chinari’s revival, the revival of border communities, in general.

“We must overcome poverty. And this is what matters most now. Victorious people should be triumphant in themselves. It has nothing to do with what we have on our tables; it has nothing to do with the contents of our pocket. It is first of all a mindset. Once we change our mindset, the rest will be settled one by one,” the Prime Minister stressed.

Then the Prime Minister and Mrs. Hakobyan called at the site where a new house is being built for one of Chinari households. The house was ruined in enemy shelling, and a new six-room house with a bomb-shelter is being built with the government’s funding. Note that 12 shelling-affected residential buildings have already been rehabilitated in Chinari.

Nikol Pashinyan and Anna Hakobyan next visited Movses community. Road construction-related issues were discussed during a meeting held with the locals in the churchyard. For the first time, an asphalt road has been laid in the 300-year-old village.

Nikol Pashinyan stressed that this is the merit of law-abiding taxpayers. The Prime Minister emphasized that his government seeks to ensure that all roads are of equal quality from Abovyan Street in Yerevan to Movses village.

Aygepar was the Premier’s next port of call. The village has turned into a large construction site. Some thirty houses heavily damaged in shelling are being repaired or completely reconstructed at this point of time; all local streets are asphalted. Many locals who used to go abroad for work are involved in the ongoing activities. They thanked the Prime Minister and the Government for initiating such a large-scale project, which solves their housing and labor problems.

The Prime Minister got acquainted with the construction in progress, thanked Aygepar residents for living up to their border guard’s mission. Nikol Pashinyan and Anna Hakobyan familiarized themselves with the construction of a new bomb-shelter under the local school’s premises.

The Head of Government next visited Nerkin Karmirakhbyur community. The Premier inspected progress in the construction of the municipal alley and was shown the completely renovated 8 apartments, which had been damaged in shelling. Several local residents are involved in the ongoing activities.

In conclusion, Nikol Pashinyan and his spouse visited the Berd Fortress, where archeological excavations are underway at this point of time. The fortress is expected to become a tourist hub in the near future.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his spouse Anna Hakobyan attended the opening of the 21st Yerchanyan Perspectives International Music Festival in Berd, which featured a performance by Armenia’s National Philharmonic Orchestra led by Eduard Topchyan.

The Prime Minister delivered concluding remarks at the close of his visit to Tavush Marz border communities. In his speech, the Prime Minister reminded that on August 28, the Government paid tribute in Sardarapat to those Armenian servicemen who perished in the victorious battles of July, noting that the unprecedented concert, which concluded his regional visit, had that very meaning.

Nikol Pashinyan noted that the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra had never before performed in Berd, and he did not even remember when a classical concert was last held in Berd.

“Today’s events are intended to pay the same tribute to the heroic people of Tavush, to the enlarged Berd community. While forged by our troops, by the Armenian army, the victorious battles of July were largely facilitated by the support provided on the part of the heroic people of Tavush. Today we can make records on several occasions, using the word “unprecedented” to show that victories do not fall from the skies: they are the result of teamwork and consistency,” the Prime Minister said.

Nikol Pashinyan advised that prior to visiting Berd he had called at the border community of Chinari, where not a single residential building had been built for the past few decades of Armenia’s independence.

“A well-furnished residential building is being built from scratch in Chinari on the government’s initiative, which will be handed over to a large family of ten by this yearend. Movses village had never seen an asphalt road throughout its history. Today, the village boasts a road that meets all modern requirements.

The village of Nerkin Karmirakhbyur had not had an asphalt road ever since Armenia’s independence. Today Nerkin Karmirakhbyur is connected to a highway of national importance through a newly built modern-standards-compliant road. A state-of-the-art park will hopefully appear in Nerkin Karmirakhbyur by the end of the year. We call it “Park of Mothers and Children,” which is supposed to change the atmosphere in the community.

There had never been asphalted streets in Aigepar community. Today, all the streets in Aygepar are asphalted, the shelling-affected roofs are being renovated, and this is sure to change the settlement’s local color.

Today, as I was meditating about the renovated roofs in Aygepar, I asked to myself what our soldiers could see when looking back at the rear. They could see roofs eyeing the future, developing settlements full of optimism; they could see a country tuned in to the future, and of course, they could see a civilized and cultured rear. By the way, today’s concert is referred to as “Culture in the Rear,” the Premier said.

In Pashinyan’s words, his visit reflected the Government’s vision of a new way of life for people in communities, especially in rural areas. “I just said one could hardly remember the time a classical concert was last held in Berd. But we want such concerts to be held on a regular basis, and not only by invitation cards. We want there to be ticket offices in Berd, in other communities for people standing in line ready to and capable of paying for the concert. With this concert, we are formulating a strategic vision and a way of life for our country, our homeland, our region, and our communities.

Dear enlarged Berd community residents,

We have come to thank you for keeping strong the back of our army and the borders of our country, first of all in moral and psychological terms.

I happened to visit Aygepar in my capacity of Member of Parliament during a flare-up in 2015, and I voiced the following idea when hosted in a local family. I even remember the name of the eldest member of that family. I told him that theirs was perhaps the last home in Armenia on the border with the neighboring country. The 75-80 year-old man turned to me and said: no, this is the first house in Armenia. And we have come to say that the remarks of that senior resident of Aygepar have been converted into a state policy today, which will be implemented and materialized consistently. Thank you, I love you all; I bow to you, and I am proud of each of you. Long live the heroic people of Tavush!” the Prime Minister concluded.