YEREVAN. – At Wednesday’s regular Cabinet meeting of the government of the Republic of Armenia (RA), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the government's action plan for 2021-2026.

He said that this program consists of these six sections: security and foreign policy, economy, infrastructure development, human capital development, law and justice, and institutional development.

Also, Pashinyan quoted the text of this program's preface.

He noted that this program of the government is based on the commitments undertaken before the RA citizens during the ruling Civil Contract Party’s election campaign for the June 20 snap parliamentary elections, the pre-election promises given to them, and the strategy of Armenia's transformation until 2050.

"The snap elections of 2021 showed the irreversibility of democratic processes in the RA. These were already the second consecutive national elections that were highly praised by the international community. The snap elections of 2021 were of exceptional importance for public solidarity, restoration. The atmosphere of public and political unrest that started in November 2020 was overcome by the election results. Many external and internal challenges threatening the RA remain unresolved. The severe consequences of the 44-day [Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war [last fall] have significantly changed Armenia's external environment, not only exacerbating a number of pre-existing challenges, but also bringing new ones. The protection of Armenia's external security, sovereignty, territorial integrity, the fair solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the creation of a favorable regional and international atmosphere around Armenia continue to be a priority. The government, which received a vote from the people to solve this problem, intends to take serious measures to unite the best public and national potential,” the Armenian PM stated.

According to Pashinyan, the establishment of national unity based on the rule of law and rights, mutual respect, ruling out of hate speech and words degrading the dignity is one of the priority tasks of the government. "The misunderstanding of democracy as fertile ground for permissiveness and impunity poses serious threats to the legal order, public safety, the rule of law and right," he added.

The Prime Minister noted that opening the era of peaceful development for Armenia and the region is nevertheless the biggest mission undertaken by the government before the people as a result of the snap elections. "The government realizes that the solution of this problem does not depend only on the Republic of Armenia, but also on the attitude and desire of other countries in the region. The RA government assumes its share of what to do and responsibility to open an era of peaceful development for the region,” the premier added.

Nikol Pashinyan said that the process of reforming the Armenian armed forces has started and is going on in Armenia to a great extent. "The reformed armed forces shall be the main factor in ensuring our external security," the PM added.

He stressed that the next key factor in ensuring security is an active foreign policy. "Armenia shall pursue an active and proactive foreign policy, working to have effective working relations with all countries and international organizations," Pashinyan said.

Referring to foreign policy, the premier stated: "An important factor is the Armenian-Russian strategic alliance and the RA’s membership in the CSTO. The formation of a stable regional environment and the unblocking of regional infrastructures were emphasized. This is an innovation because in our foreign policy directions we give a special place to our regional foreign policy. We emphasize the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and clarifying the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh. The full restoration of the peace process in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs is an essential factor for regional stability. The [Armenian] government's program has formulated a certain positioning on the July 29 statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. We have formulated our program in such a way that it be maximally equivalent to the calls of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the resumption of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process," Pashinyan noted.

The Armenian PM said that the next direction of ensuring security is the formation of a stable system of national security bodies. "We have been talking for a long time about the reforms of the National Security Service and the national security system. Our plan is that in the near future the RA border troops will receive more precincts from the RA armed forces; that is, the territories will be expanded. In this respect, the border troops shall be expanded, transformed, reformed. This expresses our intention and goal to advance the peaceful regional agenda. Usually the border guards take on responsibility for the areas that are considered non-war—that is, peaceful—zone. A foreign intelligence service will be established in Armenia over the next five years," the Armenian PM concluded.