PM Pashinyan introduces the newly appointed Minister to the staff of the Ministry of Finance

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARTSAKHPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan introduced newly appointed Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan to the staff of the Ministry of Finance, ARTSAKHPRESS.was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister first thanked the former minister, newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan for his work as the Minister of Finance and congratulated and wished success to Vahe Hovhannisyan in his future work. “You know that this change takes place due to the appointment of Mr. Khachatryan as Deputy Prime Minister. Of course, I have to stress and underline that circumstance, because I did not have the opportunity to talk about it. Mr. Khachatryan, I want to wish you success in the position of Deputy Prime Minister. I must also record and say that the efficient work of the Ministry of Finance under your leadership was important for that decision, and I hope that this efficiency will be visible also in the scope of the powers and activities of the Deputy Prime Minister. Of course, I hope that Mr. Hovhannisyan, who has also worked in the Ministry of Finance for the past year, will be able to take the baton and develop it. At the same time, I hope that you will carry out effective activities in the status of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister. We are in a very important period, where we have certain new economic dynamics on the one hand, and on the other hand, more and more escalating and aggravating security challenges. In this context, the management of public finances, the implementation of the state budget, the accurate and efficient implementation of expenditures will play a very important role in the management of all these processes. I want our efficiency in this area to increase significantly. We are implementing large-scale programs in the field of education, in the reform of the armed forces, in general, not only in the army, but also in the National Security Service, the Police, the State Protection Service, and the Foreign Intelligence Service is also being created. In this regard, the role of the Ministry of Finance and the Minister of Finance and the Deputy Prime Minister is difficult to overestimate also in the context that, ultimately, the success of all our reforms and these institutional changes depends on how efficiently our economy will function and develop, what kind of investment environment and attractiveness we can provide, which is also within the scope of the functions of the Deputy Prime Minister. It is very important that we quickly see the results of this decision also in terms of the dynamics of implementation of the important state programs that we have talked about many times. Again, Mr. Khachatryan, let me congratulate and thank you. Mr. Hovhannisyan, I congratulate and I wish you success. I would like to thank the entire staff of the Ministry of Finance, the team, because I must also say that recently here we listened to the performance report 2022 of the Ministry of Finance and I must record that it was satisfactory because I saw that institutional, systematic and organized work is taking place in line with to the Government’s Action Plan 2021-2026 and the list of measures for the implementation of the plan,” said Prime Minister Pashinyan. In turn, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan thanked the Prime Minister for his high confidence and the opportunity to work in a new responsible position. “For me, this position is twice responsible, especially after the words with which you evaluate the work of the Ministry of Finance over the past year and a half. I also want to thank the staff of the Ministry, because it was a team work, it was the result of the daily work of more than 12 hours of many of our colleagues present and not present here. The most important thing is that at the basis of that work we had a common vision and goal to improve the quality of our work every day in a way that the result serves the interests of our society in the best way. I allow myself to say this because we have not had any objective, substantive discussion, when we have not first talked about this issue, and then about the new things to be done. And that goal is formulated in the best way in the Government’s Action Plan 2021-2026. It was very easy for us because there was a guideline, there was a framework towards which all our discussions were directed and it was with the idea of finding solutions within that framework that we came together to address these issues. I have had the opportunity to say, Mr. Prime Minister, when you appointed me to work as the Minister of Finance a year and a half ago, that the Ministry of Finance had a staff with high professionalism and high human qualities, who were always united in good times and bad times. By saying bad times, I also mean when maybe not everyone lived up to their expectations, because not always the work brought success. There were also failures, temporary difficulties. I am sure that Mr. Hovhannisyan and his colleagues will fulfill the plan for 2023 that is set before them in the best way. My willingness was and continues to be to provide all support in the new position, so that the work done by the ministry be effective,” said Tigran Khachatryan. The newly appointed Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan also thanked the Prime Minister for his trust and appreciation. “It is a great honor for me to serve the Republic of Armenia by doing work like this. Of course, after the milestone set by Mr. Khachatryan, it will be quite difficult to continue to keep up, taking into account the professional approach, also as a leader, the approaches that Mr. Khachatryan set. I am confident that we, the entire staff of the Ministry of Finance, will do our best to raise public finance management in Armenia to a level that will match the level of the most developed countries in the world,” said Vahe Hovhannisyan. Summarizing, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted. “Our goal should be that the work of institutions depends as little as possible on officials holding political positions, because, after all, political officials come and go, and our biggest task should be that systemic, institutional work takes place in the ministries. Speaking about the work you did in the previous period, I emphasized that nuance, because while listening to the report, I saw institutional work. We, the people holding political positions, should create the maximum opportunity and be able to inspire the people holding non-political positions to the maximum extent so that they reveal their potential as much as possible for the benefit of the state. The biggest task in our country is that less and less depends on the people holding political positions over time, because no matter how little depends, still a lot depends on the people holding political positions in any country. But our goal is ultimately the accomplishment of all institutions. Of course, it is a big problem for us, and we have discussed many times and we should keep in mind that work in the public sector should be sufficiently attractive and competitive with the private sector. In this regard, I hope that the public administration reforms, which are a very weighty and complex package, will eventually be able to reach a proper milestone and that our upcoming period of administration will be maximally focused on institution building. This is one of the most important issues, which I am very happy that both the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister will have the opportunity to implement in practice, or continue the work aimed at it. Once again, I want to thank everyone present for the effective work done during this period.”