President Armen Sarkissian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian held a regular working meeting

President Armen Sarkissian today at the Presidential Palace had a working meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Stressing the importance of the regular working meetings, which have become a tradition, Armen Sarkissian and Nikol Pashinian discussed issues pertinent to the country’s current agenda.

President Armen Sarkissian: Mr. Prime Minister, I am glad to host you today. This, it looks, has become a tradition – to meet regularly, to discuss all events which are going on in the country and beyond, on the international arena, and share information about visits, meetings, achievements, and difficulties of our own - government and presidential institutes.

Thus, I once again welcome you at the office of the President of Armenia.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian: Thank you, Mr. President, I am glad to see you. This is actually our first working meeting in 2020, and I am glad also to note that year 2019 was successful for the Republic of Armenia. Data on the economic activity in 2019 has been published and I can state that in 2019 we had the highest index of economic activity since the application of that method of the economic analysis which was introduced in 2011. In 2019, we registered the period of transitional governance after the revolution and the topic of institutional changes in our country has been becoming more and more important in our discussions as well as the conceptualization and introduction of the strategic governance logic.

I believe, in 2020 we will enter such a phase and maturing of institutions in our country, introduction of the system of checks and balances has always been in the center of our attention and stay there. We have also responded to the situation around the Constitutional Court, the crisis, if I may say so, and I hope that today we will discuss problems related to it and will exchange views.

I certainly share your viewpoint that we should approach the problem based on the logic of the country’s institutional sustainability, our country’s national and state interests’ logic, the logic of having a clear-cut and working system of checks and balances because only then we will have the irreversible democracy, irreversible rule of law with all the ensuing consequences and, certainly, irreversible constitutional reality which has always been in the center of our attention and the focus of our working discussions. So, I am very glad to have this opportunity.

President Armen Sarkissian: Very well, I am ready for discussions too. I will listen to you carefully, Mr. Prime Minister. What you said about mature institutions in our country, well-balanced institutions, is significant because if we speak of long-term, sustainable development and all that is essential.

It is certainly worth while discussing the future programs too, investment programs.
I am glad to note that there seem to be new, small victories related to my visits to the countries of the Persian Gulf, Davos, and Israel.

I will tell you about them.