The Best Time to Demonstrate Political Will is Now: Nikol Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Finance and introduced the newly appointed minister, Tigran Khachatryan, to the staff. Pashinyan began by thanking Atom Janjughazyan for his work as Minister of Finance.

Emphasizing the importance of maintaining the normal operation of the financial system and the ministry during a crisis, the Prime Minister stated that this is crucial and worthy of recognition. According to Pashinyan, there are many significant issues in the sector that have been discussed and decisions made, and there needs to be consideration for future actions.

The Prime Minister highlighted two main directions. “The first is the continuous improvement of the public procurement system because we have two key issues there. The first challenge is to be able to implement our goals and approved programs effectively, expediently, and with quality. The second is to ensure that this objective does not become an obstacle for investments, especially public and capital investments. It should be noted that this is not a simple problem and does not have straightforward solutions. I consider it very important to draw conclusions from the work we have done in this regard during this time and to make some decisions,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The second direction he mentioned is the issue of public debt management. “To be more specific, it’s about the more efficient management of our fiscal areas, which is also not a simple issue. We have serious work to do here. Certainly, significant work has been accomplished, but here, I believe we still have not been able to achieve precise balances. I do not even know if that is generally possible, but nevertheless, the question must be formulated as a priority,” Pashinyan stated.

Speaking about significant changes in tax policy over the last three years, Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized that there are serious tasks ahead. “There have been situations where we have been able to demonstrate political will and make necessary changes. And it must be stated directly that there have been situations where we have not been able to demonstrate political will and implement necessary reforms. I believe that now is the best time to demonstrate that political will, as the challenges before our country are making our society more receptive to continuing the reforms and the trajectory of increasing efficiency unwaveringly,” the Prime Minister noted.

Nikol Pashinyan congratulated and wished success to Tigran Khachatryan. “You are not new to the Ministry of Finance either, having previously worked in the capacity of Deputy Minister,” he added. According to the head of government, the existing mutual attitudes, atmosphere, and Atom Janjughazyan's willingness to support reforms, as well as listening to conclusions based on accumulated experience, create very good prerequisites to give new impetus to this process and achieve concrete milestones.

Atom Janjughazyan thanked Nikol Pashinyan for the opportunity to take on such a responsible obligation. “The management of public finances plays a key role from the perspective of macroeconomic balance, and this role could hardly have been suitably fulfilled throughout this period without your support. I want to assure you that during this time, we have remained fully committed to the institute's mission, and there has certainly been no case of a conscious disconnect between our actions and our mission,” Janjughazyan stated.

He congratulated Tigran Khachatryan and wished him new achievements. “I am confident that, in this case too, with your support, Mr. Prime Minister, the staff will successfully solve the tasks before them,” he said.

Tigran Khachatryan, in turn, thanked Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for trusting him with this responsible position and expressed gratitude to Atom Janjughazyan and the ministry's staff for their work over the years. “As you mentioned, especially during the last difficult times, with the direct involvement of the ministry, the government has managed to ensure what is most important, which is macroeconomic stability,” he said. Khachatryan expressed confidence that upcoming collaborations with Atom Janjughazyan would enable the ministry to work with maximum efficiency in the future.