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

Nikol Pashinyan referred to the "Corruption Perceptions Index 2022" published by the "Transparency International", according to which the Republic of Armenia has recorded some retreat. "This is a very important indicator for us, and in our anti-corruption policy strategy, we have a very clear goal of recording progress in this indicator. And we have a certain action plan for the period until 2026. The retreat in this indicator, even if it is not very big, even if it is not very significant, is a disturbing alarm for us", said the Head of the Government.

In order to discuss the topic and understand the reason for the setback, the Head of Programs of "Transparency International" Anti-Corruption Center Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Chairman of the Corruption Prevention Commission Haykuhi Harutyunyan, Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council Karen Andreasyan participated in today's Cabinet meeting. According to Varuzhan Hoktanyan, in the period of 2012-2018, this indicator fluctuated between 33-37, after which there was a sharp progress during 2 years. In 2019, it rose to 42 points, and in 2020, it increased by another 7 points. "The growth stopped in 2021, and this year it retreated. That retreat is not statistically significant, but there is a need to worry, a retreat of 3 points is not a small retreat."

Nikol Pashinyan considered this indicator worrying: there is no progress, which is already a problem and unacceptable. "It can also be noted that this indicator shows the perception of people who communicate with various state bodies. You mentioned that the business makes various illegal payments to various government agencies, we know about it because in 2022 we had several memorable arrests, detentions. Of course, the problem does not end there. This situation needs an in-depth study, and we need to understand what additional steps we need to take so that Armenia continues the impressive progress."

The Government has established the certification procedure for calculating the extra payment of contractual officers, non-commissioned officers and privates occupying positions with operational, planning, or control functions for combat operations and the scope of combat tasks. As Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan noted, certification will be carried out in 5 centers and through 10 commissions set up by the minister's order. "Certification includes testing the professional knowledge of military personnel and knowledge of official duties and a practical evaluation of the level of physical, fire and combat readiness. The test will consist of 50 questions, the servicemen who correctly answered at least 35 questions and received at least a “good” mark in physical, fire and combat training will be certified”, said the minister. Suren Papikyan also informed that the servicemen will have 3 months to prepare for it and will have the opportunity to be certified again twice a year. The reforms are planned to be implemented in 3 years.

Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the adopted decisions and noted that this is the start of the certification process of servicemen, as a result of which the salaries of servicemen will increase depending on the position and rank. "Citizens of the Republic of Armenia should be convinced that the people who wear military uniforms meet very specific standards. Of course, we will not implement this with one action, we must also change the evaluation scales. We have also agreed that the representatives of other departments or perhaps organizations, our parliamentary partners, will be involved in the certification process, so that we can be sure that the defined quality standards are maintained," the Prime Minister emphasized.

The Executive approved the development strategy of the healthcare system pf Armenia for 2023-2026 and the list of measures arising from it. Accordingly, the guidelines for the development of the sector for the coming years and the necessary target measures are defined, which are specifically aimed at protecting and improving the health of the population, maternal and child health, reducing infertility and improving the reproductive health of women, reducing morbidity, disability and premature mortality, prevention of mental health problems of the population and effective treatment, preparation of the human capital of the healthcare sector, providing medical institutions with qualified specialists with higher and post-graduate and secondary vocational education through effective planning and management, etc.

Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the adoption of the strategy and noted: "We have had a lot of serious investments and changes in the sector so far, but it is very important to have a comprehensive idea of what to do next. We also have a goal and agreement that by 2026, we should not have, so to speak, a public health physical infrastructure in poor condition in Armenia. Also, the development of primary health care is the most important cornerstone of this strategy."

The Government approved the drafts laws of the Republic of Armenia on amendments to the “Law on Service in National Security Bodies" to the “Law on remuneration of persons holding state offices and civil service positions".

Referring to the draft law, Nikol Pashinyan noted that the certification process is starting both in the army and in the National Security Service. "Here, our goal is the same: to at least double salaries."