YEREVAN. – A new law on the National Security Council (NSC) of Armenia shall be adopted in 2017.

Head of the Presidential Administration, Armen Gevorgyan, stated the aforementioned at Tuesday’s National Assembly hearings on the draft state budget for the coming year.

He noted that the 2017 spending for the NSC under the Presidential Administration has been reduced twofold.

With a presidential decree in August, this council became a secretariat, its staff was downsized from 93 to 37 people, and its expenditures dropped from 478 million drams (approx. $1,006,000) to 224 million drams (approx. $471,400).

The National Security Council, however, will be changed again in the coming year. Furthermore, it will transform from an advisory into a decision-making agency, especially in military policy.