YEREVAN. – When we suggested raising the 50,000 AMD reward for second child up to 150,000 AMD, a lot of opposing opinions occurred since some were arguing that it does not increase the birthrate in the country, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia Mane Tandilyan told reporters.

However, this measure was a message to our citizens that second child is of strategic importance to our country, she said when summarizing her 100 days of governance on Wednesday.

She argued that by pointing the vector towards the families with 3-4 children the government sets targets that cannot be reached.

“The state this way equalizes the importance of first and second children whereas the birth of the second child is of strategic importance. We will move backwards should the second child not be born in our families. With this initiative we sent that message to our people,” she added.