Minimum Wage Should Reach 85,000 Drams, Extreme Poverty Must Be Eliminated: Pashinyan

The minimum wage should be increased to 85,000 drams. This was stated today, August 18, by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan while introducing the Government's program. Addressing the social security issues of citizens, Pashinyan said, 'The average minimum pension must be equalized with the values of the food and consumption baskets. We need to set the minimum wage at 85,000 drams and eliminate extreme poverty. These are quite decent targets, and we will need to exert serious efforts to implement these targets properly.'

He noted that the Government has important work on eliminating unemployment. 'Of course, jobs are being created and will continue to be created in Armenia, but a particular goal and target for us is to maximize the stimulation of high-wage segment jobs. In this regard, we consider it important to maintain and accelerate the dynamics we have in the high-tech sector.'

According to Pashinyan, the Government plans to have about 35,000 employees in the high-tech sector by 2026. 'The turnover of the sector is to reach 5 billion drams, which will account for 6-7 percent of the gross domestic product. According to 2020 data, this figure was 4 percent. In the next five years, around 16,000 jobs will be created in the high-tech sector in Armenia.'