Prospects for institutional reforms in the field of water and land management and the reorganization of the Water Committee were discussed under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Aramazd Ghalamkaryan, Chairman of the Water Committee of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, presented the Water Committee’s institutional reform roadmap, which includes the development of a strategic program for water systems management for 2026-2035, review and modernization of legislation and existing norms, inventory of irrigation systems and land areas, efficient, climate-resilient and water-saving management of water resources, improvement of irrigation system management, monitoring, land consolidation, increasing the share of water-saving agriculture, work aimed at the construction of reservoirs, etc. Details were also presented on the Water Committee's international programs for 2026-2031.

Regarding the issue, the Prime Minister noted that strategic goals in the field of water management should be clearly stated in order to move in the right direction. “Our strategic goal should be to make 100 percent of agricultural lands - arable lands, perennial plantations and grasslands - irrigable.” According to Nikol Pashinyan, investments in the water sector should be significantly directed at the development of irrigation technologies.

The Prime Minister also emphasized that it is also necessary to carry out work to expand agricultural lands. “This is already a matter of professional analysis, and this is also a very important direction, that is, I think that we should set such a strategic goal in the water sector and formulate this strategic goal as much as possible,” the Prime Minister said.

Referring to land consolidation, Nikol Pashinyan noted that it is a very direct and concrete tool for increasing the efficiency of water use. The Prime Minister suggested considering the interrelationship of these two issues within the logic of public administration reforms.

"Our next strategic task in the water sector is that all settlements of the republic should have 24-hour drinking water. That is, all settlements, without exception, should have 24-hour drinking water. We must build our long-term programs with this logic," Nikol Pashinyan noted and emphasized that the solution to all these issues is not possible without a change in consciousness towards water.

Continuing the topic, the Prime Minister noted: “The next important issue, which in my opinion, we very often miss from our perspective, is the generation and supply of water resources necessary for the development of our economy, because we mix technical water and drinking water, and in fact, we also lose sight of a very important issue, which is that after all, many branches of the economy need technical water. As far as I understand now, drinking water is also used in some places as technical water, which is also a fundamental problem. In other words, here too we must understand that after all, in the previous period we ensured an average annual economic growth of 7%, now we are setting an annual economic growth of 6% for the next period, but we do not have a calculation of what additional water resources will this growing economy need, because we are going for a very ambitious growth of industrial production, we set indicators, but we forget that without water, no result is possible. Industry and industrial growth are not possible. If there is growth in industry, it means there is also growth in water consumption, growth in technical water consumption.” In this context, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the importance of resolving issues related to technical water.

Touching upon the next strategic issue, the Prime Minister emphasized that water should not be released into nature without purification. “It does not matter for what purpose that water was used. That is, the water used must be purified before being released into nature. This is a very important strategic issue, including in the logic of preserving and developing water resources. And of course, the constant topic that we have is the preservation and development of Lake Sevan. Next is the maintenance and care of the rivers and lakes.”

An exchange of ideas and an earnest discussion took place on steps aimed at consolidating and effectively managing water resources and systems.

Prime Minister Pashinyan instructed those responsible to organize a working discussion on the mechanisms for effective implementation of institutional changes in the sector and to report on the results.