A Cabinet meeting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The Government approved a measure of lump-sum financial support for the families of those civilians killed or disabled in the hostilities launched against Artsakh by the Republic of Azerbaijan on September 27, 2020. It is proposed to provide AMD 3 million to the disabled of the first group and disabled children, 2 million drams - to the disabled of the second group, 1 million drams - to the disabled of the third group, and 5 million drams - to the families of deceased civilians

A program was approved to provide compensation to those citizens of the Republic of Armenia who suffered property losses due to artillery shelling. A lump-sum financial assistance will be offered to beneficiaries in the amount of funds indicated in the information collected by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures and the Urban Development Committee within the respective regional municipalities.

The Government approved a 6-month support program to reimburse the expenses of temporary accommodation of adult citizens registered in those communities left out the control of the Artsakh Republic as a result of military operations. The families that provided housing to Artsakh citizens will get financial assistance in the amount of 30 thousand drams for each adult citizen, and 45 thousand drams - for providing housing in the Republic of Artsakh.

Nikol Pashinyan advised that a draft government decision is being developed to provide compensations to students involved in hostilities and children of war participants: they will get tuition compensation for the second half of the year.

“I hope that at the next government meeting we will de jure adopt the decision, but before that, as agreed, there should be no problems with tuition fees at universities,” the Head of Government said, addressing the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vahram Dumanyan. Stressing the importance of the aforementioned decisions, Nikol Pashinyan said they fit into the logic of the roadmap published by him on November 18. “The package features such issues not included in the reported items that fit into the logic of the roadmap, and we must continue working in this direction,” the Prime Minister concluded.

The Executive approved the Government’s legislative initiative on a package of amendments to the Law “On Anti-Corruption Committee” and related laws. The bill is expected to facilitate the detection of corruption offenses in the Republic of Armenia as it suggests investigating corruption crimes through a specialized authority endowed with guarantees of independence. In particular, proceeding from the best international experience, as well as from the Government Program and the Anti-Corruption Strategy, a specialized body - the Anti-Corruption Committee – shall be set up to investigate corruption crimes.

Bills on amendments to the law “On Higher Education and Science” and related laws were approved during the meeting. The bills seek to improve education management efficiency and research systems.

The Government approved the results of the pre-qualification round of the tender announced for construction of Aig-1, a photovoltaic helio station of industrial scale. In particular, the list of pre-qualified bidders, the tender procedures and the composition of the commission were approved during the Cabinet meeting.