The regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

At the suggestion of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet meeting started with a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the Motherland.

"Dear colleagues, we are starting the work of the final Cabinet meeting of 2021. Before approving the agenda, I would first like to thank all of you for your work in 2021. 2021 was the year of post-war repercussions, and very serious efforts were required to keep the situation in the Republic of Armenia and around it controllable. Yes, unfortunately, at the beginning of 2021 we had just that problem. Naturally, we would not want to have such an agenda, but that was the reality. It took huge efforts from the public administration system to be able to overcome the domestic situation in 2021 without shocks. We encountered very serious problems in the external environment, and we still continue to encouunter them. The invasion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the Sotk-Khoznavar section since May 2021, the consequences of that act, and the incident of November 16 further underscore our security concerns.

I suggest honoring the memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the homeland in 2021 and in the past with a minute of silence”.

Afterwards, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the plans of the Government for 2022. “We must make every effort in 2022 to make it a year of prosperity and revival. This is our main message today. It is clear that the post-war agenda and the consequences will still be felt for a long period, and we must step by step, consistently overcome this situation and try to solve all the problems that are on the foreign policy agenda. My conviction is that we must do everything in our power to find solutions. We must do our best to leave inheritance to the next generations, to the next governments, not problems that are constantly becoming more complicated, but a stable and recorded situation, which is a key precondition for ensuring the further normal development of the country. On the other hand, of course, this is not easy; no matter how much we are willing to take responsibility for making decisions, we must also state that making those decisions often does not depend only on us. This is the most important point. We must be able to bring to maturity a process that will finally give us the opportunity to record the situation and complete the agenda of opening an era of peaceful development for Armenia and our region," the Prime Minister said.

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that it is necessary to act consistently and not to deviate from the previously published agenda approved by the citizens of the Republic of Armenia. "I wish you success in this endeavor. We will talk about this topic in more detail at the first Cabinet meeting in 2022."

Afterwards, the Cabinet members presented the indicators of revenues and expenditures of the 2021 state budget, jobs, fight against coronavirus, as well as road construction works.

The Government made changes in the decision "On the Passport System Charter and the Description of the Passport of a Citizen of Republic of Armenia". Deputy Chief of Police Ara Fidanyan noted that as a result of the decision, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia who do not have an identification card will receive old-fashioned passports with non-biometric data for a period of 2 years, instead of the current 10 years. "The purpose of amending this decision is to stimulate the process of issuing identification cards, as well as to remove passports with non-biometric data from circulation as soon as possible," Ara Fidanyan said, adding that a new system for introducing biometric passports with wider information has already been developed.

Referring to the decision, Nikol Pashinyan noted that it will contribute to the technological progress in Armenia.