The regular Cabinet meeting was held today, chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

The Government approved the Employment Assurance Program for Persons with Disabilities and Persons Over 63, the development of which is conditioned by the need to increase the employment opportunities of persons with disabilities of the 1st or 2nd group or profound or severe functional limitations and persons over 63, to increase their competitiveness in the labor market and to ensure stable employment. The implementation of the program will contribute to their active involvement in public and economic life, ensuring dignified self-realization, the formation of additional income and increasing social activity. Accordingly, it is proposed to provide support to those employers (except for bodies providing public services, as well as those organizations in whose statutory capital the state or community participates is 50 percent or more) that will sign an employment contract for a period of at least 3-6 months with persons with disabilities and persons over the age of 63.

Moreover, the employment contract may be concluded on a part-time basis. Within the framework of the program, it is proposed to provide the employer with compensation for the income tax calculated and paid from the salary of the employed person in the amount of 50% for the first three months of employment, but not more than 25,000 drams per month, and 100% for the 4-6th months of employment, but not more than 50,000 drams. In the event that the employment relationship between the employed person and the employer continues for another year after the compensation is provided, it is proposed to provide the employer with a one-time support in the amount of 100,000 drams. It is proposed to implement the program in 2027 to ensure the employment of 200 beneficiaries.

The government's decision proposes to allocate 1 billion 634 million drams from the 2026 budget to the regional administrations of the Republic of Armenia in order to co-finance the development of community infrastructure through the state co-financing program. As noted by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure David Khudatyan, the decision proposes to co-finance 16 subvention programs in 13 communities, with the following regional distribution: Aragatsotn region - 1 program, Ararat region - 3 programs, Armavir region - 4 programs, Gegharkunik region - 2 programs, Kotayk region - 3 programs, Tavush region - 3 programs. According to him, if this co-financing is approved, we will already have co-financed programs worth 7 billion 35 million drams from the 2026 state budget. The Prime Minister presented the co-financed subvention programs and emphasized that the volumes of subvention programs are growing significantly.

The government adopted a decision to provide additional privileges to businesses exporting greenhouse products within the framework of the program to support the development of greenhouse farms in the Republic of Armenia in order to mitigate the consequences of restrictions applied by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision of the Russian Federation. According to the substantiation, within the framework of the program to support the development of greenhouse farms in the republic, 20 contracts were signed to establish greenhouse farms with an area of 91.45 ha. In 2026, 1 contract was signed to establish a greenhouse farm with an area of 5.116 ha. In 2026, greenhouses with total area of 34.4 ha were built.