Honorable President of the National Assembly,
Honorable Vice Presidents,
Honorable Members of the National Assembly,
Madam Chairwoman of the Committee,
Honorable Cabinet members,

First of all, I would also like to congratulate the people of the Republic of Armenia on their victory in the elections held on June 7, 2026. The people of the Republic of Armenia, with their vote, stood up for the state, stood up for independence, stood up for the future, stood up for peace, stood up for the Republic of Armenia. And I must state that the three-headed party of war has been defeated. This is an important, but not a final outcome, because I believe that the people also clearly expressed their will that the three-headed war party and the criminal oligarchic system accompanying it must be eradicated from the Republic of Armenia, and of course, this will be one of the most important agendas of the political majority and the Government, which we must implement without delay and with very decisive and specific steps.

I would also like to congratulate the “Civil Contract” party on the rcorded results and victory. “Civil Contract” will have a parliamentary majority, as well as form a Government. And in the coming months, we will have the opportunity to discuss this topic.

And today I am here, dear colleagues, on the occasion of the discussion of the report on the implementation of the state budget for 2025. And I must state that according to the results of 2025, the state budget revenues of the Republic of Armenia amounted to 2 trillion 886 billion 500 million drams, which is 307 billion drams or 11% more than the 2024 indicator, and 2.3 times or 1 trillion 648.8 billion drams more than the 2017 indicator. This indicator deserves special attention, because it is recorded that the revenue part of the 2025 state budget has doubled compared to 2017, that is, it has increased by about 135%. In other words, we have first added another budget to the 2017 budget and also added another 35%. I think this is a very important and significant indicator, and for this indicator I would like to thank all citizens working in the Republic of Armenia, creating results and paying taxes prescribed by law, as well as all business entities and citizens who require and issue a cash register receipt, because as I have repeatedly had the opportunity to say, the budget of the Republic of Armenia is our common family budget, the family budget of the Republic of Armenia, and each of us should show exactly such an attitude towards the state budget.

I also consider it necessary to emphasize that state budget expenditures have also increased significantly, and the expenditures amounted to 3 trillion 305 billion drams, which has again more than doubled compared to 2017, an increase of 120%. And the fact that capital expenditures have increased significantly among these expenditures deserves special attention. And, in fact, capital expenditures have increased by 464.2 billion drams or more than 2.9 times, that is, by 190%. I think this deserves special attention, because it is with these expenditures that we implement the visible programs that we are talking about and are proud of. And it is also very important to note that as a result of the high economic growth recorded in recent years, the level of capital expenditures in the economic and social sectors in 2025, including the part of subsidies, has more than tripled compared to 2018, increased by 3.5 times.

These are very important indicators, dear colleagues, in general, the state budget indicators are like this, but I also consider it important for us to record what tangible results we have had. In 2026, you are aware that the universal health insurance system was already launched. But I must also record that this is not an isolated event that suddenly happened on January 1, 2026. This is, in fact, the result of eight years of consistent reforms, the result of step-by-step reforms, through which we were able to reach that point, because the task is not only to introduce the universal insurance system, the task is also to ensure the normal operation of that system. And, since there were also speculations during the election campaign that the health insurance system would be canceled after the elections and the Government did this for pre-election purposes, I want to clearly record that the health insurance system will not only not be canceled, but will also be expanded in the coming years. By 2028, we already expect the entire population to be covered by the health insurance system. At the moment, the most important result is that children under 18 and pensioners aged 65+ benefit from the health insurance system funded by the state budget, and this is also a very important achievement. Another of the most important achievements of 2025 is the increase in pensions. Although it took place from April 1, 2026, it is important to note that we made this decision after seeing the economic growth indicators for 2025, because the economic growth that we recorded is more than had been forecasted: 7.1% economic growth. And after seeing this growth, it was obvious to us that the increased, that is, the unforeseen positive part of the growth, should be reflected in the social situation of the country. And we made a decision, as you know, to increase pensions, and for the first time in the history of our country, the average pension today is more than the minimum consumer basket, of course, also taking into account the refund system in the case of non-cash transactions, which is a very important factor. I want to emphasize once again that from 2018 to 2026, over the course of 8 years, we have, in fact, addressed issues related to pensions 7 times, whether it was by increasing pensions directly or considering the refund system in the case of non-cash transactions.

Of course, one of the important results of the 2025 state budget is that we successfully continued and continue the program of 300 schools, 500 kindergartens. And this year, right now, 374 schools are already in the construction process. That is, we plan to complete 300 schools in 2026 and immediately begin the program for the construction, reconstruction or overhaul of the next 300 schools. And I also want to say that the allocations for this program already exceed 1 billion dollars. That is, we have allocated more than 1 billion, approximately 1 billion 200 million dollars to the school construction program. I think this is also a very important budgetary indicator, of course, we are not talking about a single year, but from 2021 to the present day we have recorded this result. And the program of500 kindergartens is also being implemented, which is again being successfully implemented. I assess the progress of the program as successful, and we are confident that this year we will have 500 kindergartens completed, and our children's access to kindergartens will significantly increase.

In 2025, we were able to solve our task of building 500 kilometers of road. And I am also happy to note that the Ashtarak-Gyumri section of the North-South highway is ready, it is already being operated, you are all aware, we opened that road together. But the most important event of 2025, of course, is the event recorded in Washington on August 8, when we established peace with Azerbaijan, initialing the peace agreement and adopting a declaration, which was also signed by the President of the United States, Donald Trump as a witness. Our task at the moment is very clear, we are preparing to institutionalize the peace agreement in the near future and will carry out work in that direction. But it is important that during this time we were also able to complete the Armenia-United States agreement on the TRIPP project, which has already been signed, and we will begin the ratification process in the coming period. It is important to note that this is a truly situation-changing program, because the Republic of Armenia, as I have had the opportunity to say, is moving from a deadlock of conflict to a crossroads of peace. And this, of course, is a major event in the life of our country, and in 2026, real work will begin on the ground. I also want to say that in Armenia, in general, we are carrying out work aimed at bringing the railway infrastructure to a better condition. And at this moment, a tender has also been announced for the rehabilitation of the Akhurik-Gyumri section, which will be implemented with state budget funds, and we, of course, will also implement certain programs related to the railway in the future, including with international partners.

Returning to August 8, 2025, I would like to remind you, dear colleagues, that we signed several memorandums of intent with President Trump, one of which concerned programs and cooperation in the field of high technologies and artificial intelligence. Just 10 months have passed since the signing of that agreement, and let's see what results we already have. An artificial intelligence center has been created at Yerevan State University, the Government has allocated $10 million and purchased a supercomputer for Yerevan State University. Secondly, the first artificial intelligence factory has already been opened in Gagarin, and these days the second artificial intelligence factory will be opened in Hrazdan, which is a serious technological transition for the Republic of Armenia, because having access to such technologies and being a favorable and interesting country for such investments, of course, significantly changes both the international image of the Republic of Armenia, and of course, our economic investment environment. In general, we are optimistic about the future course of our economy. I believe that within the framework of the TRIPP project and these processes around artificial intelligence, we will be able to ensure at least 6% annual economic growth, which creates a guarantee that we will successfully implement our reforms, including in the social sphere.

In general, since we are also summing up the 5 years since 2021, I consider it necessary to emphasize that in the previous period, the Government provided support to the citizens of the Republic of Armenia with various programs worth more than 3.4 billion dollars, starting with the income tax refund program in the case of mortgage tax, continuing with economic modernization programs, continuing with the program for providing preferential loans in the agricultural sector, etc., and so on. And this has also played a very significant role in the economic successes of Armenia that we have.

I would also like to remind you that compared to 2017, by the results of 2025, we have more than doubled the GDP per capita of the Republic of Armenia, and in the previous period from 2021 to 2026, we recorded an average annual economic growth of 7.9%. I would like to remind you that in the 2021 pre-election program, we envisaged and promised an average economic growth of 7%, and we have exceeded this indicator. And in 2017 to 2025, 2018-2025, we ensured 5.8% economic growth. It is important to note that these indicators are higher than both the global average and the EAEU average, which means that the People's, non-violent, velvet revolution, including in the field of economic policy, has brought these concrete results, and this gives us some confidence in implementing institutional reforms in Armenia and on the path of institutional development in Armenia.

And I want to remind you once again and emphasize that on May 28, 2026, the military parade of our new army took place, which became a very big event for all of us, for the Republic of Armenia, for the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, because we have really managed to seriously reform the army over the course of several years to the point that we have the opportunity to say that the Republic of Armenia has a new army. At the same time, I want to emphasize not only the acquisition of weapons and military equipment from abroad, but also the formation of a real military-industrial complex in the Republic of Armenia, because since 2022 the Government has invested about 170 billion drams in the military industry. And today we have a military industry that also has interesting developments, the first exports to the international market have already taken place, the first contracts have already been signed, which are already quite visible and large-scale figures for the Republic of Armenia and the sector in general. But I also want to emphasize that we have implemented other institutional reforms in the army, including the “Defender of the Homeland” program, which is also a fairly large program. The “Defender of the Fatherland” program is about the following: 18-year-old conscripts, after a certain amount of training, become contract servicemen and receive a fairly high salary, remuneration, in accordance with their voluntary certification percentages, which also brings a significant social change in the life of our republic. The servicemen under “Defender of the Fatherland” program also receive an honorarium of 5 million drams after the end of the five-year term, of course, also receiving the opportunity to continue their service.

The next important news related to the army is that starting this year, graduates of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Academy will also receive an apartment purchase certificate upon entering the army, calculated at Yerevan city prices. In other words, they will choose whether they want to buy in Yerevan city or in any region, and this, I think, is also a significant social factor.

I had the opportunity to say, dear colleagues, that since 2021-2022, we have adopted policies when our decisions, including various programs, pursue several goals in parallel. In other words, they are not single-dimensional programs, such as the cashback system in the case of non-cash transactions, which, yes, has a very important social significance, but also has an important significance in terms of reducing and overcoming the shadow economy. The Defender of the Fatherland program, for example, is, of course, of significant importance in terms of increasing the level of our army and security, but on the other hand, it is important to record its social significance, because first of all, just by the fact that the parents of soldiers are freed from the well-known phenomenon of financially supporting their soldiers in the army, the opposite phenomenon occurs, today many soldiers provide income for their families, which was previously not available to these families. This also brings significant and certain social changes.

Dear colleagues, we have many significant changes and developments in all areas. In the field of foreign policy, the process of visa liberalization with the European Union has begun and is in full swing. We are confident that we will successfully complete it in the near future. Turning to school construction, I consider the voluntary certification program for teachers to be no less important, which also has significant educational and social significance. I should also note that we plan to continue our activities in all these areas in the near future. In particular, certified teachers will have the opportunity to undergo a second certefication in the coming five years. And if in the first case their rate doubled from 100,000 drams to 200,000 drams plus the certefication percentage over 200,000 drams, in the next stage we will already have a rate of 300,000 drams and the certefication percentage above that 300,000 drams.

The support program for the birth of the third and each subsequent child has successfully continued, which is also a very important and essential social program. I also consider essential the maternity care benefit for children under two years old, which we have significantly reformed in recent years and, in fact, extended to all young mothers, because previously, you know, only working mothers received it. We first increased the amount of this benefit, from 26,000 to 31,000 drams, and then we doubled the amount of the benefit for working mothers in rural areas.

I should note that the program of construction of houses in border settlements for 16 million drams is also successfully underway, for which we have already set certain new quotas this year, and in the near future, of course, we expect some transformation of that program, because it will become a means of solving not only problems related to border settlements, but also to make the program of introducing schools and kindergartens in other areas of the republic more effective. I would like to remind you that we already have such an experience in the Gomk settlement of Vayots Dzor, which is a successful experience, and in the near future we will also have one or two other settlements in different areas of the republic, where we have implemented this work.

I should also note that in 2025, the housing program for our compatriots displaced from Karabakh begun on a fairly large scale. I should say that about 40,000 of our compatriots from Karabakh have already received citizenship of the Republic of Armenia. We have already allocated about 50 billion drams for housing, and several thousand families have already acquired apartments and settled in. We also plan to allocate about 800 billion drams over the next 10 years in order to radically solve this problem.

Dear colleagues, of course, we can continue talking about the 2025 state budget, but I will stop here and want to draw the attention of all of us and our dear compatriots following us to one nuance, especially following the elections.

During this time, of course, our compatriots in different settlements, in different regions, in different cities have raised various issues, and my response has been the following, which, of course, contains a certain element of figurativeness, but by and large also has very substantive significance. When I raise various issues in different settlements, my response has been the following: we will address all these issues, I have only one condition: the residents of a village or city, or district, or settlement should never leave a store or point of sale without a cash register receipt when making any purchase. I repeat, this expression contains a certain element of figurativeness, but only partially, because it accurately expresses the methodology and mechanism by which we solve problems and by which our ability to solve problems increases. I think that in the near future we can - artificial intelligence may also help us - even introduce certain tools to see in which settlements the shadow economy is being reduced the fastest. And perhaps, including through subsidy mechanisms or other mechanisms, we will provide certain additional tools for those settlements where we see that the shadow economy is being reduced more intensively, because I am convinced that this message has reached all our settlements, that message has reached its destination, but nevertheless, there may be different degrees of intensity. And we can turn this degree of intensity in different places into an additional factor and an additional tool in order to finance programs.

In the coming years, also according to our agreement, water-related issues will be among the top five absolute priorities, because we have made very large investments in the water sector, but there is also a lot of work to be done. As I promised, in the near future we will pay more attention to water-related issues, and I want to highlight three components. The first is drinking water supply, the second is irrigation water supply and drainage.

We have already written in both the Civil Contract Party’s election program and the Economic and Institutional Transformation Doctrine of Armenia that our strategic plan is that not a single liter of used water should be released into nature without treatment. But this, in turn, also means that we will have the opportunity to use larger quantities of water, because treated water increases the volumes that we can use.

And in general, of course, the budget affairs are good, dear colleagues. I want to say that at least at this moment we are already surpassing the tax revenues of the 2026 state budget. We are surpassing with approximately 30 billion drams ... I say 10 less. I had kept 10, because I thought we might need it for something ... We are moving forward with a revenue surpass of 40 billion drams. Our perception is that this level will at least be maintained, because the economy is active. I also want to predict that the economy will also become active in the near future, in particular, I consider the access to the rose market in the Kingdom of the Netherlands for Armenian producers to be a great event, because flower producers who have access to the market of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have access to the whole world.

Just a month and a half ago, during the opening ceremony of another greenhouse in the village of Fantan, we were discussing what steps we could take to have access to the Dutch rose market, but as they say, Saturday came earlier than Friday, dear colleagues. And now we have access not only to the Dutch rose market, but we also have a clear political commitment that agricultural products from the Republic of Armenia will be exported to the European Union without customs duties. This will become a reality in the near future. This means that the profitability of our agriculture will increase. Of course, there will be certain quality and also packaging innovations, but this is also foreseen for us, because we have also planned the creation of agricultural logistics centers, where we can also talk about sorting products and so on.

Of course, we also have active work ahead in the Eurasian Economic Union, and we will do that work. But at the same time, we will study the processes taking place during this time. We already have an agreement with the European Union that there will be a quick response in the form of support of 50 million euros and we will use these funds for cases when we see that unjustified, that is, export barriers have been created. But, of course, our policy will continue regardless of everything, our policy will continue to have diversification of export markets. I want to say directly that we have been convincing, asking, trying to support our business entities for a very long time so that they diversify export markets and there are, of course, certain movements in this direction, because our exports to the European Union have doubled, our exports to China have doubled, our exports to India have increased by approximately 87%. But this, I want to say again, is a very big opportunity for Armenia, including for agriculture, because this is a great opportunity to enter a new price segment and make agriculture more profitable. We will definitely work in this direction in the near future.

In order not to prolong it too much, I consider the most important direction in this regard to be that tourism in our country, if we do not exaggerate, is booming, because we have double-digit growth in tourism, at the moment we have an absolute record for the months of January and May of all time. I also said this in the context of food exports and exports in general, that the products consumed by tourists are also exported, because by and large there is no difference whether they consume those products in their country or come to the Republic of Armenia. I think, on the contrary, here the consumption of Armenian products is expanding more, because if the availability of Armenian products is limited there, here it is significantly wider. I am very happy that the Republic of Armenia continues its development as an attractive tourist destination. This is also connected, of course, with peace, with internal security. We have implemented significant institutional reforms, including to increase the level of internal security.

But dear colleagues, taking into account the fact that I assume that at least some of you did not sleep at night, I will stop my report on the implementation of the 2025 state budget here. However, the work does not end there. Some of our colleagues will have to stay and continue this interesting work.

I wish you all success in this work and once again congratulate the citizens of the Republic of Armenia on the convincing victory in the parliamentary elections of June 7, 2026. Of course, this convincing victory will turn into new and more convincing results, including in the fight against the criminal oligarchy, which will be one of our priorities. Dear colleagues, I want to clearly state that we will act in this direction without delay, and we will act in several directions. Justice must be served, justice must take place, but at the same time, the system of confiscation of illegal property must reach its completion. We must also work to protect community and state interests. In the previous period, we have returned, corrected, removed from the shadows at least 8 billion dollars of funds and directed them to the development of the Republic of Armenia. The Republic of Armenia today is a completely different state than it was in 2018 and I would dare to assert that the Republic of Armenia today is a much better state, much more independent, much more sovereign, much more established, much safer and naturally peaceful, democratic and prosperous, and on this occasion I want to congratulate all of us.

Thank you.