Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan paid a working visit to Aragatsotn Province today.

The Prime Minister first visited Ashtarak, the regional center, where the performance report 2022 of the Aragatsotn Regional Administration was presented as part of the consultation.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan, Head of the State Supervision Service Romanos Petrosyan, Aragatsotn Governor Sergey Movsisyan, the leadership of the regional administration, other officials took part in the consultation.

The Prime Minister was reported on the works done in Aragatsotn Province in the reporting year. It was noted that in 2018-2022 the total volume of subsidy programs implemented in the province is 9 billion 830 million AMD. Projects were implemented in the directions of road construction, improvement of water infrastructure, construction/reconstruction of educational institutions, street lighting, gas supply, renewable energy and a number of other directions. Subsidy programs worth about 2.9 billion AMD were implemented in 2022.10 subsidy program applications with a value of more than 1.3 billion AMD have been approved for 2023, and 13 more are under consideration.

As for territorial management and local self-government, it was reported that as a result of the administrative territorial reform in Aragatsotn Province, the number of communities declined from 114 to 8, optimization was carried out, trainings of public servants and local governments were conducted. An increase in the own income of the communities was recorded. In 2022, about 2 billion AMD were collected, and increase of 103 million AMD compared to 2021. As a result of the change in the land plot designation, lease of state-owned lands, expropriation by auction, about 351 million AMD entered the community budgets.

In the field of agriculture, programs for intensive orchards, installation of anti-hail nets, agricultural insurance, agri-food equipment and agricultural machinery leasing programs are being successfully implemented. About 34 million AMD was provided for the purpose of numbering cattle. It is planned to provide a subsidy of 431 million AMD for the promotion of autumn wheat production, more than 2200 contracts have been signed.

It was reported to the Prime Minister that educational reforms are also underway in Aragatsotn Province. Under the "300 schools, 500 kindergartens" program, 4 schools and 3 kindergartens are under construction, 6 schools and 1 kindergarten are in the design stage, 2 schools are under study. Construction/reconstruction of pre-school and general education institutions is also carried out by other state programs. In addition, as a result of the redistribution of the saved funds, more than 100 projects worth 200 million AMD were implemented for school construction, of which around two dozen were for the construction/repair of gymnasiums. 701 teachers passed mandatory certification, 46 voluntarily certification.

It was noted that a number of sports and cultural events were carried out in the reporting year: amateur tournaments "Cup of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia", informal educational and cultural programs, etc. More than 12,000 students visited museums, theaters and concert halls through the school subscription system program.

Reconstruction works equivalent to about 3.3 billion AMD were carried out in health institutions, among which are "Ashtarak" and "Talin" medical centers, "Tsaghkahovit" health center. Details were presented regarding major tourism projects being implemented in Aparan community. It was noted that based on the agreement reached in 2022, it is planned to start exporting Armenian wines to a number of European countries in the near future.

During the exchange of ideas, issues related to the performance report 2022 of Aragatsotn Province were discussed.

Referring to the subsidy programs, the Prime Minister noted that the infrastructure being created, be it a kindergarten, school or other institution, should be provided with the necessary new property along with the construction. Nikol Pashinyan also emphasized the training of public servants and community council members within the framework of administrative territorial reform, the consistent implementation of legislative reforms and introduction of electronic systems in terms of ensuring the growth of communities' own incomes.

In the context of increasing the volume of used arable land and pastures, the Head of the Government instructed to actively work with the communities in the direction of developing mutually beneficial mechanisms.

As for the educational reform, Nikol Pashinyan, in addition to school construction, also emphasized the consistent improvement of the quality component, including through the certification of teachers.

Social security programs, opportunities for new initiatives in the field of renewable energy, which will promote energy capacities in Aragatsotn Province were also discussed.