A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The Government approved the package of draft laws on Amendments to the law on “Remuneration of persons holding public positions and public service positions” and on amendments to the law on “Military service and the status of servicemen". According to the substantiation, it is necessary to establish a new system of certification instead of the existing certification system for contract servicemen occupying positions with relevant functions, depending on the results of which the serviceman will receive extra-payment. As part of the process, it is planned to establish a certification procedure by the decision of the Government, according to which the system of certification of officers, non-commissioned officers and privates of the contract military service occupying positions with the functions of implementation, planning or supervising of combat tasks will be introduced, the scope of combat tasks and their implementation, planning or supervision functions, the amounts of extra-payment based on the results of certification, payment and calculation procedures, terms of termination of calculated extra-payment will be defined. Moreover, after not passing the certification the first time, the results of the re-certification will have an impact on the contract serviceman's further tenure in the given position. At the same time, it was considered expedient to provide certification for the purpose of calculating the bonus on a voluntary basis for servicemen holding relevant military positions as of the date of entry into force of the law, and for servicemen occupying a position for the first time with the functions of implementation, planning or control of combat tasks provided for in each group of military positions defined by the law: in a certain period after the date of appointment to the position, in a mandatory manner, as well as by carrying out the certification of contract servicemen who are accepted into contract military service from the reserve force, sign a new contract and are appointed to a position with corresponding functions.

Speaking about the draft, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that it is about doubling the salary of contract servicemen. "In this case again we should record that we are following the same path as in the case of teachers. We have decided that the certification system should be applied for military service and other services. The voluntary certification process will begin immediately after the law enters into force. If a serviceman passes the certification, he will get a salary doubling, sometimes even more. This process will be continuous, as we previously agreed," the Prime Minister said.

The Government adopted a decision by which it is planned to allocate 276 million 679 thousand AMD through redistribution for the acquisition of property for 10 schools by the Armenian Territorial Development Fund.

The Government adopted a decision to purchase powerful tunnel ventilators and spare parts of SP-6 railroad turnouts for the needs of the Karen Demirchyan Yerevan Subway. The Head of the Government highlighted the adopted decision and noted that the strategic goal of the sector is the further development of the Yerevan metro. "I want to remind you that we have announced a tender, and the process of building a new station in Ajapnyak administrative district is underway. Design works have already started. We are completing the first stage of the design process and, according to the plan, we will have a ready project by the end of 2023 and will have the opportunity to announce a construction tender. We must record that we have made a clear decision and we must go this way. I don't see any obstacles, I hope the deadlines will not be violated, and we will start the construction of Ajapnyak station in 2024," Nikol Pashinyan said.