On 21 September, on the occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the strategy for the country’s transformation until 2050.
He said that the strategy is based on national values, of which he underscored four main ones that should be of practical importance for the implementation of the strategy: Armenian statehood, education, personality and work. The strategy contained a number of goals which should be achieved in the coming 30 years, namely: to raise the population of Armenia to at least 5 million people, create 1.5 million jobs, defeat poverty with work, increase GDP 20 times, increase the average salary by 7 times, instil a healthy lifestyle in the nation and bring life expectancy up to 90 years. He also stressed the goals of building the most efficient army in terms of population size, having one of the top 10 intelligence services in the world, making education a way of life, turning Armenia into a country of high-tech industry, having at least five technology companies worth over $10 billion and 10 thousand operating start-ups, doubling the size of forested area and winning 25 Olympic gold medals.
Pashinyan also named 16 urgent issues that should be solved within 10 years in the country, namely: to have educated and capable citizens, protect Armenia, effective and accountable governance, healthy and wealthy citizens, large and prosperous families, a strong rule of law, massive export of processed products, a clean and green Armenia, reasonable development of territories, effective farming, great repatriation and integration, renewable and generally available energy, making Armenia attractive for entrepreneurs, high technology and a recognisable, respected and hospitable Armenia.
The Prime Minister insisted that the document’s time span does not mean that he intends to stay in power for the next 30 years. He stated that he views its implementation as a “pan-national movement” that should also guide the country’s next government. “It’s not that this strategy must remain unchanged until 2050,” he said, adding that Armenians could amend it through general elections. He also stressed that his government is ready to consider changes in the text and will organize public discussions for that purpose soon.
