A Cabinet meeting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Due to the need for restoration, efficient use and management of the Ararat Valley Artesian Basin water resources and the upgrading of existing fisheries capacities, state support for modern and up-to-date equipment, the Government has taken appropriate decisions.

In particular, amendments were made to the government's leasing program for financial leasing of agri-food equipment approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, with a 50% down payment of 50% of the pre-requisite equipment required to provide alternative use of water resources by fishery operators. AMD 6.0 million will be subsidized.

Regulations have also been put in place that relate the amount of water used and the amount of industrial output used as a result of that water.

Referring to the decisions made, Nikol Pashinyan noted: “We have to bear in mind that today's fish industry is one of the established branches of the Armenian economy, and it is clear that we have also had serious problems and risks as a result. We once estimated that we used to consume USD 1 billion-worth water a year to produce fish for USD 150-200 million. But we are facing specific realities, and the our choice is as follows: Either we say that we are going to do away with the artesian basin, which we cannot do, or we say that we are to ban the fisheries industry, which we cannot do again, since in either event this would mean undermining the economy. That is why we need to go step by step to manage the risks and opportunities and come up with balanced solutions.”

According to the Prime Minister, the government will support local producers in all sectors, provided that it increases their competitiveness.

“Our course is very clear. we will support local manufacturers in all areas provided we make sure that we will thereby boost their competitiveness, not just put them on the “drug needle,” but we help them to be more innovative, more competitive, more efficient. Therefore, yes, we have a very serious problem in this area that we need to address in a balanced way. And yes, we have agreed that such programs should also be monitored at the moment, and when we realize that the program is not effective, we should not be afraid and give up,” Nikol Pashinyan said.

The Government adopted a decision on “Establishing Free Economic Zone in Gyumri, Shirak Marz, and on “Recognizing the Eurasian Logistic Park Free Economic Zone LLC to be the Organizer of the Free Economic Zone, as well as approving the forms of reporting submitted by the organizer on the activities of the free economic zone.”

The purpose of the private initiative to create a free economic zone near Shirak International Airport is to service e-commerce logistics warehouses and export-oriented manufacturing processes.

The Executive next decided to allocate 57762.0 thousand drams from the state budget to the State National Academic Choir of Armenia for the creative, administrative and service staff of the choir in 2019. August-December for additional payments.

With another decision the Government will allocate money to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport to ensure the participation of the Armenian delegation in the CSTO International Youth Sambo Festival to be held in Moscow, September 5-8.
The meeting amended a previous resolution in a bid to regulate the process of issuing temporary license plates to vehicles that have been left out of customs clearance. The amendment provides that “temporary” types of license plates may be issued for relevant economic operators and customs authorities, enabling thereby access to some one-stop-shop services for vehicle importers.