Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Government holds daily discussions on further steps to curb the adverse consequences of COVID-19.

Today’s regular meeting summed up the interim results of the monitoring of government-approved activities. It was reported on the implementation of economic and social assistance programs, proposals were presented to improve some of the proposed measures. In this context, Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan touched on the third program, noting that part of the applications has not been processed because they do not meet the approved criteria: there are business-related inconsistencies, as well as inconsistencies in terms of turnover, overdue tax liabilities, and some technical problems. Given the overwhelming number of such applications, the meeting considered the possibility of amending some criteria.

The Prime Minister stressed that whereas the state of emergency is going to be extended, the Government aims to support as many business people as possible. The Government should meet halfway the concerns voiced by the business community and expand its assistance toolkit, if necessary. Nikol Pashinyan instructed the concerned departments to work together and submit a draft of relevant amendments.

Proposals for activities designed to expand the scope of social assistance were presented. Ways of involving new target groups and identifying new support areas were discussed. Wrapping up the discussion, the Premier instructed to finalize the draft program of emergency activities and the application procedure, taking into account the proposals voiced during the meeting.