We Must Immediately Get to Work: Prime Minister Introduces New Minister of Social Affairs

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan introduced the newly appointed Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Mesrop Arakelyan, to the ministry staff. The Prime Minister thanked the former minister, Zurab Batoyan, for her work and wished success to Mesrop Arakelyan in his future endeavors.

“In general, we can assume that due to several circumstances, social tension will escalate further related to the coronavirus pandemic, the war, its consequences, and the economic situation. We need to accelerate efforts in the sphere of labor and social protection and achieve concrete results. I just told Mr. Arakelyan that now is not the time to say that time is needed to enter into work and understand the specifics. We must immediately get to work and achieve specific results. I hope that Ms. Batoyan and the ministry's team will fully support the newly appointed minister in this work. This is a challenge for all of us, and we must concentrate our efforts to solve this problem,” said Prime Minister Pashinyan.

Zurab Batoyan expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for his trust and collaboration. “It has been a great honor for me to work in the Government of the Republic of Armenia and to serve the citizens of the Republic of Armenia. I would like to express particular gratitude to the staff for their hard work during the pandemic in 2020 as well as during the state of wartime. We all know that in the case of all issues, it is primarily the social sector that bears the consequences. We had planned to implement numerous systemic changes in 2020, but issues significantly delayed them. Nevertheless, we have done considerable preparatory work, and I hope that together with Mr. Arakelyan, we will be able to implement those efforts. Personally, as an advocate for equal opportunities and a person from the social sector, I will continue to serve the Republic of Armenia. Wishing Mr. Arakelyan success, I would like to emphasize that I am ready to support the ministry's work, ongoing programs, and to remain in constant contact with both the minister and our partners in the ministry,” said Zurab Batoyan.

In turn, the newly appointed Minister Mesrop Arakelyan also thanked the Prime Minister for his trust. “As Ms. Batoyan mentioned, this year has been more burdensome in terms of social issues, and indeed, the functions and responsibilities of the ministry were greater. At this moment, I also emphasize the issues that have arisen in the social sector and which must be resolved as soon as possible. The aim of me and the ministry team will be to create new results every day. I assure you that in a very short time we will ensure significant results to alleviate the current situation while not forgetting the government programs we have planned to implement in the social sector,” emphasized the newly appointed minister.