An enlargement of communities will continue, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan said on Thursday.

He suggested enlarging communities instead of calling it a "union."

Papikyan informed that the enlargement will continue. 

“Yes, there is such a purpose. We are simply setting out mechanisms now so that it will not be imperative and compulsory, but conscious,” he noted adding that this issue is now being discussed in one of the Parliament committees. 

He noted that soon there will be public debates, parliamentary hearings.

Referring to the local referendums, he noted: “There will be an opportunity for a referendum”

According to him, today, most small communities depend on government, and the idea of ​​decentralization and equitable development does not come from our reality because our communities are heavily dependent on government subsidies.

He noted that large communities are able to solve their problems.

Accordingly, the Swiss Government will extend its support to the Armenian Government to provide public services in a more efficient, transparent and democratic manner.

The program will enable the Armenian government to decentralize public services from the center to the provinces, providing the necessary infrastructure to deliver those services.