Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took part in an event in Gyumri dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Customs Service of Armenia.

The Prime Minister delivered remarks, particularly saying,

"Dear Mr. Badasyan,
Dear Cabinet member,
Dear Mrs. Governor,
Dear employees of the Customs Service,

Congratulations to all of you on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Customs Service. This is a very good opportunity to summarize the 30 years of activity and to open a new strategic page for the transformation of the Customs Service. Of course, state institutions and also the role of tax and fiscal bodies are very important in the accomplishment of our state, because the Customs Service is one of the most important attributes of the state. And during this time, of course, it has passed a long, difficult way of development.

However, I would like to continue the process of changing the image of the civil servant in general, and in particular, the customs officer, the tax officer, that started in the last years. And in public terms, this message should be delivered correctly, because the customs officer is not the person who, let's say, tries to take money from a poor citizen who brings a few bags of goods, but the customs officer is the person who performs a state function. When talking about the change in the image of the customs service, and the change of its perception in general, we should also talk about the change in the perception of citizens, because in many cases the perception that everything around us, the reality we have today, finally begins from the fulfillment of a citizen's obligations to the state is absent. That is, why do citizens pay taxes, customs duties? Because we have all agreed that we should have a state, that state should act according to the following rules, within the framework of those rules we should make payments, with which we should solve, satisfy the needs we have.

In general, I hope that due to regional changes and developments, the Republic of Armenia will gain much greater transit potential, and in this regard, the improvement of Customs Service procedures is very important for the Republic of Armenia to be an attractive transit country. And not only roads and communications are important for this, but also the services provided, in particular, by the Customs Service.

Dear attendees, I would like to congratulate all of us once again on this significant anniversary of the Customs Service. I would like to thank all the employees for their contribution to the accomplishment of the Customs Service, wish good luck to all of us in terms of success in the further accomplishment of state institutions, including the transformation of the Customs Service, so that the image of the Customs Service becomes better and better. In the end, even if we do not achieve it, we must strive for perfection.”

Afterwards, a number of employees of the Customs Service were awarded with commemorative medals and letters of gratitude from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Customs Service and for their contribution to the development of the customs system, as well as for their conscientious work.

During the event, the process of creation, establishment and development of the customs system of Armenia was presented to the Prime Minister. It was noted that the Bagratashen, Gogavan-Bavra checkpoints have been modernized. Northern Foreign Economic Activity Service Center has been built in Gyumri. The center carries out the customs clearance procedure of passenger cars with completely modernized opportunities and a new working style. The process was carried out on the basis of the instruction of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia to transfer the customs clearance function of cars to Gyumri. The southern border of the country, the Meghri border checkpoint, is waiting for its turn of modernization.

The vision of the Customs Service, which is based on the provision of new quality services to business using innovative technologies, was also discussed in detail.