On October 8, the NA President Artur Baghdasaryan met the graduates of the educational institutions of the USA and Europe.

The head of the parliament said he was intended to promote the use of the potential of the youth, having high qualification, to include the most promising in the systems of the state power. According to the NA President, the meeting was an invitation of open dialogue and cooperation, the goal of which was to listen to the viewpoints of the Armenian youth, who studied in different countries, and their proposals concerning the key issues for the country.

By question and answer, an active debate was expanded between the NA President and those present. The issues raised by the youth were various. The youth were concerned that in case of getting job in state systems, they wouldn’t be paid due to their knowledge and qualification: returning from the foreign higher educational institutions, they, first of all, try to work at international organizations then - in the private sector and only then - in state structures. And in Georgia, noticed one of the graduates, the state employees are paid from the means of the international funds. From the NA President’s speech it was clear that he was not for the experience of Georgia and is for increasing the amount of the state official’s salary step by step on the account of the means of its own budget, and to make more attractive the system for the high-level specialists. There are preconditions being led by such model, noted Mr. Baghdasaryan, stressing that expenditure part of the state budget of 2006 was increased and reached to 1bln USD (in 2005 it was 400mln USD.) In parallel to all this, the NA President proposes not to be led by material values in promoting the prosperity of the country with their own capabilities. Artur Baghdasaryan was also not for the proposal of creating privileged conditions for work for these young people, as he considers fair in making a choice to be led by knowledge, to create competitive conditions. In general, the NA President  gave priority to the competition also in the educational system, and this norm was reflected in the law “On Education.” The NA President informed those present on legislative amendments of the educational system, noting that the parliament has already adopted the draft laws on Higher Educational and Post Graduate Education, Specialized Secondary Education and on Handicraft Unions. In 2006 it is envisaged to include in the educational system the Code on Education. The head of the parliament considered that two foreign languages must be taught in the general schools, the pupils must master the computer.The chain of the educational reforms will be continued, noted the NA President, and the law on General Education hasn’t been adopted yet.

During the meeting also the issues important for the country, related to the constitutional reforms, pan-state elections, and activity of the MPs were touched upon. One of the guests raised an issue of civic control towards the MPs. It is mainly important in such cases when an MP, who comes to the parliament with any political force, and then becomes a member of another political structure, he noted. The NA President considered possible to find a restriction mechanism in this issue but reminded that the freedom of the MP is an internationally adopted and acting norm. To the question of being unaware of the constitutional reforms and on political inactiveness, the NA President noted that on the initiative of the National Assembly and international structures, more than 4 dozens of debates were organized on this theme with the wide social layers, and during 45 days allotted for the campaign, the public will get the utmost awareness on the proposed amendments. And today wide opportunities are created for making proposals on the drafts, and in general, for turning to the parliament, informed the NA President: the public can turn to the legislative body through the parliament’s web site, telecommunication, by presenting letters and applications, or the defined days for the citizen’s reception.

Calling for more activeness, the Parliament President noted that people can be optimists and pessimists, and the success accompanies the optimists, because the pessimists are usually passive observers.

To the question of one of the graduates on the involvement of the youth in the political structures, the NA President noted that the OYe (Rule of Law) proposed the youth not to be passive and instead of fruitless criticism to smooth their own way by active work.

In the result of the debates, an agreement was reached to create a consultative body joining this group, to sum up the problems and proposals and submit them to the NA President. Within this framework the youth will cooperate with the head of the legislative body in elaborating state planned policy towards the specialists, who studied in foreign countries.