Today, the regular Cabinet meeting took place, chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

The government has made amendments and additions to the State Support Program for the Development of Intensive Horticulture. It is proposed that within the framework of the program, based on the results of monitoring carried out by 2026 in accordance with the procedure established by the Ministry of Economy, those beneficiaries who have established orchards and whose loan principal has already expired or will expire by July 31, 2027, the financial institution will extend the loan repayment period by 1 year and provide an additional grace period of 1 year on the loan principal. The decision is due to the need to provide additional privileges for economic operators to mitigate the consequences of the restrictions imposed by the Russian Rosselkhoznadzor.

Another unreported decision will provide additional privileges to businesses exporting greenhouse products within the framework of the agri-food sector equipment leasing support program in the Republic of Armenia.

The Prime Minister asked if there was a tense, crisis situation, to which Gevorg Papoyan replied: “There is a visible price decline in two directions: there was the flower, which we knew about, and the tomato. In the remaining directions, there is no significant price decline, and the existing harvest is either completely sold on the market or exported.”

Nikol Pashinyan noted in this regard that the Government encourages businesses to adapt. “Now we see that new export channels are emerging. Here we need to be able to enter the process, act according to the existing logic and regulations.”

In this context, Nikol Pashinyan touched upon cooperation with the EAEU and noted: “We are working very closely and actively with the EAEU, and we will continue that work, because we are not under the assumption that something irreversible has happened there, and we should not look in that direction now. No, we will work very actively, and I am sure that there will be solutions, because if there are no solutions, it means something completely different, first of all, for the EAEU. I would like to remind you that the EAEU is based on several conceptual provisions: the free movement of labor, goods, services and finance. If this is not there, it means that the EAEU does not exist, and the EAEU must clearly answer the question: does it exist or not? We say that it does exist, and we, including as a participating state, believe that some misunderstanding has occurred, and the impression has been created that the EAEU does not exist. But if the EAEU says, "I don't exist anymore”, what can we do if it does not exist? We exist, and we are in the EAEU, and we work in the EAEU. Now the EAEU must say whether it exists or does not exist. If it says, "I don’t exist," that is, it will say directly or indirectly that it doesn't exist, what can we do?”

The Prime Minister noted that what is happening in Armenia will cause serious concern in several EAEU countries. “We talk about diversification processes at Cabinet meetings, but I am convinced that this same process is taking place in a number of EAEU countries without announcing it. They will assess what is happening (with Armenia) as a risk that they face. Therefore, there is really something to discuss in the EAEU format, and I will use this opportunity to start that discussion in the near future. I also have questions for our colleagues regarding the statement that they adopted in my absence, and we need to understand what it means in practice. In other words, we need to understand whether any EAEU country can make such decisions regarding any other country, and simply wake up one day and make such decisions. In my assessment, if the answer to this question is “yes”, then the EAEU is declaring dissolution, and we should draw conclusions from this. The answer should be very clear: is there or is there not? "If there is, we will take a position, if there is not, there will be no particular need to take a position."

The government adopted a decision on the construction of a football stadium in accordance with UEFA standards in the administrative territory of the Getahovit settlement of the Ijevan community. Accordingly, it is planned to consider the procurement of the service for the development of design and estimate documents necessary for the construction of the stadium as urgent and to organize the procurement process for this purpose through the “Urgent One-Person” procurement procedure. It is also planned to make a reallocation in the amount of 177,828.0 thousand drams in the 2026 state budget of the Republic of Armenia for the purpose of acquiring design and estimate documents for the construction of the football stadium. The adoption of the decision is conditioned by the fact that the World Youth Football Championship is planned to be held in Armenia in 2029. The main condition for holding the championship in Armenia is to have a UEFA category 4 stadium. For this purpose, the requirement for the construction of 3 stadiums (including 1 national) in the Republic of Armenia has been set. 2 of the three stadiums are planned to be built with at least 10,000 seats, and 1, the national one, with 35,000 seats. The national stadium will be built within the framework of the "Academic City" program. As a result of long negotiations and studies, the city of Vanadzor was selected for one of the 10,000-seat stadiums, and the Getahovit settlement of Ijevan community was selected for the other. The design process for the construction of the stadium in Vanadzor (reconstruction of an existing stadium) is already underway, which has been entrusted to VenueEra Holding LLC, which has international experience and has already designed and built similar stadiums.

The government approved the bill “On Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Electronic Communications” and related laws. The introduction of the unified IMEI system will allow for the reconciliation of customs data, operator activations and international registries, allowing only legally imported mobile phones to be activated. The proposed legal regulation includes mandatory IMEI registration from the moment of legal import, while also introducing restrictions on copying, changing codes and activating non-customs-cleared devices. The adoption of the bill will also contribute to the membership of mobile operators in international databases where international counterfeits are recorded.