In 2024, 30 billion drams (approx. $75 million) will be added to the state budget of Armenia for the pensions and benefits of those forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan announced this at Wednesday’s meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs, as he presented the draft of the 2024 state budget of Armenia.

According to the minister, the expenses planned for forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh were not included in the draft 2024 state budget, as the Armenian government had approved this draft at the end of September, before the deportation.

"During the second reading discussion, we will include the expenses of [these] pensions and benefits, which will increase our pension costs by about 30 billion drams," the minister said, in particular.

Also, he informed that the Armenian government on Thursday will approve the amendments to the law on pensions, and this will enable the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia to pay the pensions of those displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh in the amount that they received in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In addition, the Armenian government plans to implement training and employment programs for the forcibly displaced Nagorno-Karabakh people of working age, as well as housing programs in 2024.

According to him, all this is under development. Hovhannisyan assured that if they do not manage to implement the planned programs before the adoption of the budget, then these funds will be earmarked from the reserve fund, from where allocations will be made during the year.