We Have Launched Mechanisms for Vehicles to Pass Customs Without Stopping - Pashinyan

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, participated in the swearing-in ceremony of customs officers today, who have been hired under a new procedure for joining the customs service within the framework of the reform of the State Revenue Committee.

The event was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan, Chair of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan, Deputy Chairs of the SRC, Tzovinar Soghomonyan and Ashot Muradyan, and other officials.

Most of the participants who successfully completed the training courses to prepare customs officers under new criteria that began at the start of 2022 have already started working in the customs service system, which has entered a new phase of reform.

During the event, Prime Minister Pashinyan delivered a speech: “Dear colleagues,
I am very happy about today’s occasion because it is very important for us to endow more and more state institutions with new, fresh energy. However, on the other hand, it has never been our approach to reject, deny, or omit the best traditions of the system. From the very beginning, since 2018, our position has been that the entire state system and all should have the opportunity to understand the issues in each system, to differentiate the best from the less favorable. Time is always needed for that understanding. We provided that time, and I am glad for it.”

“Although I must also confess that in the course of implementing this thesis, we have often been criticized, including regarding the customs service of the State Revenue Committee, saying that we are delaying changes and reforms there. Even on that occasion, we were looked askance at. How can this be explained? It can be explained precisely by today. Today has been our goal. Mr. Badasyan mentioned that today we essentially have 50-50 percent of people coming from the customs service with extensive experience and new individuals entering that service. It is our best wish that experience combined with a fresh perspective will yield the best results we want. And of course, we should leave the worst traditions in the past.”

“This is very important because with only one component, I believe we will not solve the problem we set before us. And I am also glad that despite all difficulties, pressures, and criticisms, we have remained faithful to our path from the very beginning, when we promised that everyone should have the opportunity to self-express, regardless of how many years they have worked in any agency.”

“Now, it seems that the time has come for the practical implementation of our theoretical thesis, when the best are establishing partnerships with completely new people to transfer the best practices and, as a result, to form the best practices,” Pashinyan added.