Prime Minister: We are being accused of creating problems related to 'Armat' laboratories, but what is the problem?

During today’s government meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the 'Armat' laboratory program, noting that this issue has recently sparked numerous speculations, including political ones.

"The 'Armat' laboratory program started in Armenia in 2014, and between 2014-2017, 188 million AMD was funded from the state budget for the 'Armat' laboratories, while in 2018 and 2019, 1 billion 296 million AMD was financed from the state budget," said the Prime Minister.

He mentioned that before the revolution, 220 engineering laboratories were opened in three years, and after the revolution, 355 'Armat' laboratories were established. "This means we opened more than twice as many, increased funding nearly tenfold, and today people are accusing us of causing problems related to the 'Armat' laboratories," said Pashinyan, adding, "But what is the problem?"

Nikol Pashinyan clarified that the issue is related to a very simple matter: "Today, we have 575 laboratories acquired from a single organization, and we say that at this moment we need to take a pause, analyze how this system works. We must avoid single-source procurements. As a result of these analyses, we will present a technical assignment and after this, implement these laboratories through a competitive process. This means we need to say which schools we are planning to create laboratories in and invite a competition. In one case, one organization might win, and in another case, another," Pashinyan explained.

The Prime Minister stated that he does not understand who is accusing them of hindering technological advancement of 'Armat' laboratories in schools. "Let them publish these numbers, and then they can enter the field of cheap speculations," he said.