Why Go to Jermuk When We Can Go to Rome: Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has addressed the queues for visas at the embassies of EU member countries, emphasizing that this has led to significant dissatisfaction. The Prime Minister mentioned that he has given several instructions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding this issue.

According to Pashinyan, in many cases, the resources are insufficient for the existing pace. He commented on why citizens have started traveling so much to the EU: “No matter how much we are criticized and considered the most vulnerable place, this is the result of our reforms in the aviation sector,” he said.

Pashinyan stated that opportunities have been opened for citizens: “People are saying, why should we go drink coffee in Jermuk, have lunch, come back, and go to Rome or Frankfurt or Brussels? Look at the flow on social media; there are seasons when, on Saturdays and Sundays, people are posting fewer pictures from somewhere in Armenia than from European capitals.”

According to the Prime Minister, this is also a result of a change in consumer mentality: “This year, if we observe correctly, there have not been queues to Georgia, at least not like in previous years. On one hand, we are increasing border capacity,” the Prime Minister said, adding that a large number of people have traveled to the EU or the Middle East during the New Year. “This is also a result of people's welfare level or at least a change in consumer mentality.”