I Propose Increasing the Security and Defense Budget Expenditures by 30% - Bagratyan

We are concerned that funding for security and defense has increased by only 0.8 percent, which is troubling because our opponent is planning a 20 percent budget increase in 2020.

This was stated today, November 11, by Sergei Bagratyan, a member of the parliamentary faction "Prosperous Armenia," during a meeting with journalists, reflecting on the discussions regarding the 2020 budget. He emphasized that this is alarming, as we must adequately respond to challenges.

"I propose increasing the expenditures in the security and defense budget by 30 percent, so that we are able to face the upcoming risks," said Bagratyan.

He also expressed concern over the underfunding of science: "We are short of 1.6 billion dram in funding. I believe that science is undervalued, and the government is not adequately executing its work regarding science. I also think that funding for science should be increased by 30 percent, and our attitude towards science must change completely, because if we think we can achieve great results in the IT sector, we are gravely mistaken. We must transform scientific products into marketable products and digitize in the IT sector to record serious results."

The parliament member noted that in 2019, 80 million was invested in education for transportation expenses, which has increased 3.5 times for 2020. He considered such investments important for solving transportation issues in the army regarding soldiers.

"For all students and teachers who live far away, their transportation costs are covered; that’s great, no one questions why that was done. But have we done the same for the army, for our soldiers, who often encounter checkpoints and are halted to reach their military units for free? Is it not more important at this moment to allocate funds for soldiers’ transportation?" asked Bagratyan.