Armenia’s state apparatus can be slashed even more than is proposed in the current bill on the structure of the government. This is what Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as he answered questions from MPs during a discussion on the report on the activities of the government in 2018 on 27 March.

Pashinyan particularly explained the idea of merging the Ministry of Agriculture with the Ministry of Economy. “If agricultural products are not going to be exported, we can’t achieve development of the agrarian sector,” the Prime Minister said. According to him, the Ministry of Economic Development will deal with the development of a policy on exports of agricultural products.

As far as other agricultural programs are concerned, the Prime Minister believes these programs concern the financial sector more and are also linked to banking in which the government has practically no participation.

“All the ministries are important. However, if you ask me, I would reduce the number of ministries and the bodies adjunct to them even more,” the Prime Minister declared.