I Am Ready to Debate and Justify Why Community Mergers Should Occur: Suren Papikyan

The process of community consolidation in Armenia will continue. Several already consolidated communities may be reviewed and merged in a different format based on geographical, economic, and citizen-acceptable criteria. This was stated by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Suren Papikyan, during a response to a question from Hrant Ayvazyan, a member of the 'Enlightened Armenia' faction in the National Assembly.

According to Papikyan, if a consolidated community does not have a political foundation for unification, the economic successes are significantly higher, starting from the fact that property tax collection and properties entering the tax field have increased by around 55%. “This is a clear indicator, and I am ready to debate with anyone and present the justifications for why community mergers should occur. The communities that have not justified the unification in this format can, of course, be reviewed and merged in a different format. This would assume geographical, economic, and citizen-acceptable options,” concluded the minister.