Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Public Radio of Armenia on the occasion of World Radio Day.

As a symbolic step, Nikol Pashinyan first took part in the repair of the door damaged during the events of April 14, 2018. Nikol Pashinyan congratulated the Public Radio staff on World Radio Day, stating: “Let me congratulate all the Public Radio staff, the radio listeners and the employees of all radio stations of Armenia on World Radio Day, because currently there are many radio stations in our country. I wish them every success and express the hope that the Public Radio will live up to the task set in this new information situation or, more precisely, it will gain new positions.

I want to say that in the years when I was an MP, I was an active listener of Public Radio, and I really liked the programs, especially from the Golden Fund of radio. And I hope that the best traditions will continue in our social and political life – the Public Radio will actually become the media, which corresponds to the new reality, I mean democracy, freedom of speech and press.

And I regret to note that in Soviet times, the Armenian radio was known for its incredible humor. I do not know why this tradition has somehow slowed down or even stopped. I hope that this image of Public Radio will be restored, and the sense of humor inherent in the Armenian Public Radio will get a new reputation on international platforms, thereby enhancing Armenia’s international reputation and rating.

Reiterating my congratulations, I would like to say that I am glad to visit the Public Radio of Armenia following last year’s April 14. We are in the same studio I broke into at that time. Then, of course, I asked for forgiveness several times, but now, I again want to ask for forgiveness from all the radio employees. I hope that we all realize that this was a civil act that, in the short term, justified itself and will justify itself in the long run.”

Prime Minister Pashinyan answered the Public Radio commentator’s questions, which related to tomorrow’s press conference, citizens’ problems, the economic revolution, and the Prime Minister’s leave.

The Prime Minister first noted that he intends to start a press conference tomorrow with the presentation of 100 facts about New Armenia, the purpose of which is to show what changes have taken place in the country.

In response to the question about whether he intends to take leave after one year’s continuous work, the Prime Minister said he may take a two-day leave in early June and spend it in the Republic of Armenia.

Touching upon issues of concern to the citizens of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan noted: “As before, the most important global issues are related to economic opportunities, growth of well-being and incomes. As I said earlier, we have already taken specific steps in this direction and will continue to take them in the near future. We are preparing to raise the salaries of servicemen and teachers, and this year we plan more than 100 million US dollars in capital investment, which according to our estimates will boost the economy.

Our economic activity index is in a fairly stable, satisfactory condition, and now the most important task is to stimulate the economy through large-scale investment, so that people could feel the growth of their income and wealth.

At tomorrow’s press conference, I will present a lot of information on this topic, because during this year the incomes of many people have grown, including wages and pensions. I will talk in detail about this tomorrow. However, this is the beginning of the road, and I think that the most important fact is that we are in a very good starting position and can really manage a serious economic breakthrough.”

Touching upon the economic revolution, the Prime Minister said that the first most active stage of the economic revolution was successful, but he will say more about this tomorrow. Then Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan toured the radio headquarters, congratulated the Public Radio’s management, the employees, and the staff of Radio News on World Radio Day, wishing them new achievements and every success.

The Head of Government was briefed on the Public Radio’s approaches to tapping the existing potential. The process of digitizing Armenia’s largest audio archive, the archive of Public Radio, was also touched upon. As a result of large-scale work, starting from this February, more than 100,000 records are available at armradioarchive.am website, including classical songs, performances, programs, concerts, as well as unique and unknown recordings.

The archive is also available through the Armenian Public Radio mobile app. Archiving work continues, and the audio library will be replenished with new records and titles during the year.