We have adopted 12 measures, and now it is time to summarize the work of this phase. Prime Minister

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired another meeting at the government today, focusing on the anti-crisis policy aimed at neutralizing the consequences of the coronavirus.

Opening the discussion, Prime Minister Pashinyan noted, "We have been working daily in this format for almost a month, and our goal has always been and continues to be to adopt measures aimed at mitigating the economic and social consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. At this point, we have adopted 11 measures, and another one is being formally adopted today, bringing the total to 12 measures. I believe it is now time to summarize the work of this phase to understand which of the measures are effective, which are less so, and what adjustments we need to make in our approaches and tactics to respond to the crisis more effectively."

The chairman of the Central Bank, Arthur Javadyan, presented the current results of the first and second measures. According to him, there is some progress regarding the first measure, with new applications being received. The total number of approved loans is currently 214, amounting to 9 billion 715 million drams. Of these loan resources, 828 million 500 thousand drams will be allocated for the salaries of 2,055 employees. Within the framework of the second measure, 770 loan applications have been approved, 479 of which are microloans for the agricultural sector. The total approved loan amount is 1 billion 844 million drams, out of which 346.5 million drams have already been allocated to the agricultural sector.

The Central Bank Governor noted that according to monitoring results, the majority of the 479 approved agricultural loans are already serving their purpose and have been invested in the economy.

Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan addressed the progress of the implementation of the third measure, with 102 loan applications approved, amounting to 947 million drams. He mentioned that a draft proposal to change some criteria of the measure is currently in circulation, and it is expected that the volume of loan resources allocated under this measure will increase by another 700-800 million drams upon its approval.

Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Davit Ananyan reported that under the fifth measure, payments have already been made to 6,149 beneficiaries, amounting to 937.3 million drams.

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan reported on the progress of social assistance programs. Under the fourth measure, assistance has been provided to 964 beneficiaries, and under the sixth measure, to 6,723 beneficiaries. At the same time, the process of identifying beneficiaries continues, and the scope may expand. The list of beneficiaries under the seventh measure has been expanded by 2,000, and support will be provided to 5,957 pregnant women; currently, the total volume of this measure amounts to 597 million 700 thousand drams. Within the framework of the eighth measure, there are already 39,000 approved applications with a total budget of 2.6 billion drams, and applications continue to be received. The ninth measure is also in the process of implementation, with the application receipt process ongoing before beneficiary identification and list matching take place. After the completion of these works, funds will be transferred to beneficiaries in a timely manner.

Reports were also made on the implementation of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth measures.

During the exchange of ideas, it was noted that the measures aimed at neutralizing the economic impacts of the coronavirus are progressing effectively. Furthermore, the implementation of social measures to mitigate the social consequences of the coronavirus was discussed. The discussion included the implementation of those measures. Questions regarding improvements to certain components of these programs were raised, which would allow for enhanced targeting and accelerated delivery of planned support.

The Prime Minister instructed to continue ongoing monitoring, to follow the progress of the programs, and to present interim reports on a daily basis.