Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Increase Diplomatic Bonus by Several Percent

The permanent committee on state and legal affairs of the National Assembly has discussed a draft amendment and changes to the law on "Remuneration of Persons Holding State Positions and Positions in State Service."

According to Safaryan, the ongoing changes in the security environment in the region and worldwide, as well as the external threats and challenges facing the Republic of Armenia, require a heavy burden of effort and significantly more vigorous efforts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in almost all bilateral and multilateral platforms. The scope of work for diplomats has multiplied, and the degree of responsibility has sharply increased. Diplomatic platforms have effectively become the first line of defense for ensuring the security of the Republic of Armenia.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that in relation to presenting and best ensuring the interests of the Republic of Armenia in relations with international partners, there is a necessity to prevent the outflow of highly qualified specialists, to encourage their motivation to work better and advance in their careers, and to create better opportunities for attracting new specialists by improving the remuneration conditions for diplomats and enhancing the attractiveness of the diplomatic service.

Currently, the established bonus amounts are not commensurate with the scope, content, and responsibility of the work performed by diplomats, nor with the requirements set for appointing to a diplomatic service position, which include high professional qualifications, higher education, and knowledge of at least two foreign languages. Generally, qualified specialists prefer to work in various programs of international organizations or the private sector due to higher salaries, service guarantees, and benefits.

Diplomats receive bonuses for diplomatic ranks, which are set at 3% of the diplomat's official salary scale, with the bonus amount increasing by 1% for each subsequent higher diplomatic rank. Diplomatic ranks are granted to diplomats based on the conclusion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' competitive-certification commission and form the basis for the official advancement of diplomats.

The Deputy Minister also noted that according to the second part of Article 6 of the law, the additional salary for persons holding state positions and state service positions cannot exceed 30% of the main salary, while Article 7, part 7, provides an exception for several positions to which the limitation of not exceeding the 30% bonus does not apply. This includes the President of the Constitutional Court, the Vice President, and judges, as well as military positions in the systems of defense, national security, state protection, and police, among others.

“The bonuses awarded to diplomats for diplomatic ranks are currently not included in the exceptions mentioned in the law. The presented draft proposes to include diplomatic service in the exceptions and to set the bonus for each diplomatic rank at 80% instead of 3%,” concluded Safaryan.