Nikol Pashinyan to Personally Attend Parliament Session

Sources close to the government have reported that the Armenian authorities are currently discussing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's attendance at the parliament session on October 25. According to our information, a joint session of the parliamentary committees is scheduled to take place on that day, which will herald the discussion of the draft state budget for 2022.

The Prime Minister intends to personally present the budget draft at this joint session, subsequently handing over to the newly appointed Minister of Finance, Tigran Khachatryan, who is still inexperienced in this area.

The matter is still under discussion, and there is no final decision yet. It is also known that the President of the Central Bank, Martin Galstyan, and the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Narek Mkrtchyan, will also be present in parliament; each is expected to present the expenses related to their respective sectors and solutions to various issues.

It is noteworthy that Minister Mkrtchyan is also inexperienced in his field and will be appearing before parliament for the first time in his capacity as a minister. As is known, Narek Mkrtchyan was previously a My Step faction member and it is unclear how he will present the substantial budget expenditures of such a large ministry.

We have also learned that on October 25, following the presentation of the budget draft, discussions in the committees will resume on November 1, as the new session of the National Assembly will start on October 26.