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The RA Draft State Budget for 2023 held 6-day joint debates in the NA Head Committees. A number of issues, which related to the content and execution of the budget, were voiced by the deputies. At November 16 NA sitting, the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs Gevorg Papoyan informed about this with co-report during the debate of the RA draft state budget for 2023. The MP added that the parliamentary opposition did not take part in those debates. “It is painful for me to record that without participating, they did not make audible in any way in the context of the budget 2023, and those citizens had consideration, problems, issues,” he said. Gevorg Papoyan assured that during the power tried to voice those issues and problems.

The Committee Chair characterized the budget 2023 responding to the social, security, development and existing challenges. “The draft state budget for 2023 has expenditure about 2.6 trillion AMD, which is by almost 80% biggerthan the state budget for 2018, and by about 19%, compared with the previous year,” he said

As the co-rapporteur informed, the social allocations also increased by 56% compared with 2018, and by 12 % - compared with 2020, making 650 billion AMD, which is 25% of the state budget. “During the year 2020 we increase of the pensions one in direct and one indirect way. During the year 2023, we’ll also have one more, and the average pension will surpass 50.000 AMD instead of 44.500 AMD, becoming 50.500 AMD,” Gevorg Papoyan underlined.

The expenditures for security, according to the rapporteur, are incomparably big – 509 billion AMD, the capital expenditures also increased, making about 5550 billion AMD.

Regarding the inflation problem. The MP noted that, by this moment it is about 9.5% in Armenia, which is the lowest compared with the neighbor countries: in Turkey – 85, in Iran – 52.2%, in Azerbaijan – 13.6%, in Georgia – 10.6%.

Gevorg Papoyan expressed conviction that one of the best versions of the inflation neutralization is the creation of jobs and the increase of salaries. In that context he noted that in nine months of 2020 the average salary in Armenia increased by 13.4 %, reaching 225.500 AMD.

“The factual average salary increases in more progressive rates than the inflation. In the state sector it increased by 4.5%, in the private one – by 16.2%,” the deputy noted. He underlined that in 2023, the salaries will increase up to 25%.

Regarding the unemployment level, the deputy noted that at this moment, it is the lowest from the one ever been.

Answering to the criticism, the Committee Chair why the state artificially does not intervene to the dram exchange rate, artificially does not raise it, noted that the state functions in the market environment and the exchange rate market also is regulated in the market environment, and the artificial rise of the exchange rate can result in bigger inflation, and the RA citizen will become the main person who will suffer.