Avanesyan on Her Friend's Appointment as Deputy Minister

"The principle of appointing officials based on 'relative, acquaintance, friend' was put to an end in 2018, and this policy is being followed very consistently. Varduhi Grigoryan has been working at the Ministry of Health for 17 years, having risen from a leading specialist to the position of head of the drug policy department, and then becoming the chief of staff.

This was stated by Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan during a briefing with reporters, commenting on the reports that her friend, the chief of staff of the Ministry of Health, Varduhi Grigoryan, will soon receive a new position as deputy minister.

“Varduhi Grigoryan and all the other staff members of the ministry are my colleagues; I highly appreciate the good atmosphere that exists in the Ministry of Health because we went through COVID and the war together, and we are all already one family, not just friends,” stated Avanesyan.

She noted that the deputy minister position is currently vacant. “I do not have a final decision yet; we have several candidates whom we are still in preliminary discussion with,” said Avanesyan.

She did not clearly answer whether Varduhi Grigoryan is being considered as a candidate for the deputy minister position, mentioning that everything will be clear in the future. The minister emphasized that she is not aware of any instances of appointments in the Ministry of Health based on 'connections.'