A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Before discussing the issue on the agenda, the Prime Minister referred to the process of voluntary certification of teachers, noting that it is one of the most important strategic programs, it will be a turning point in the further development of Armenia. “Teachers themselves decide to be certified, that is, to reaffirm their qualification or not. As a result of reaffirming it, their salaries, depending on the points, will increase by 30, 40 or 50 percent”, Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that the Government also plans the next stage, where the second certification with higher criteria will take place for the already certified teachers.

The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vahram Dumanyan informed that 1372 teachers applied for voluntary certification of which 996 have participated in the process. "468 out of 966 teachers, according to the points obtained as a result of the knowledge test, will receive a 30, 40 or 50% extra payment. The others did not cross the threshold”, Vahram Dumanyan said.

The Government made a decision due to the need to provide sports benefits to the winners and prize-winners of the Olympic Games, European Championships, as well as sportsmen included in the national teams of Armenia, coaches and doctors of the Armenian national teams of the sports included in the program of the Olympic Games for preparting for the world and European championships provided by the calendar plan of 2021.

The Executive approved the draft law on making amendments to the “Law of the Republic of Armenia on Licensing". The adoption of the draft law is conditioned by the necessity to develop legal regulation for legal entities of Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, European Union, as well as the United States, Canada, South Korea, People's Republic of China, Japan, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Islamic Republic of Iran to apply to the relevant authorized body in the Republic of Armenia and to obtain a permit through a simplified procedure if they have a relevant license (or equivalent permit) given by the respective country for activities subject to licensing in the Republic of Armenia with no specific requirements for the place of the activities. It is envisaged to issue a permit through a simplified procedure without submitting it to the Government for discussion. According to the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, the aim of the bill is to make the participation of foreign companies in the activities subject to licensing in Armenia more accessible. "As a result of the study, we singled out 13 types of activities out of 78, for which we can offer easier conditions for licensing to foreign companies."

The Government approved the proposal to sign the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica on the “Exemption of holders of diplomatic, official and ordinary passports from the visa requirement”. The purpose of the agreement is to exempt citizens of each state holding diplomatic, official, and ordinary passports from entry, transit or residency visa requirement for a period not exceeding 90 days from the date of entry.

The draft decree of the President of the Republic of Armenia "On Approval of Amendment No. 11 of the Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the United States of America on the development of more inclusive, effective, and accountable management" was approved. The Amendment No. 11 envisages an increase of $ 1,858,470.56 for the projects under the agreement, bringing the total planned investment of USAID to $ 66,198,913.56. The assistance programs envisage supporting the vulnerable population and mitigating the problems caused by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of September, 2020.