As part of independence 29th anniversary celebrations, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today presented Armenia’s Transformation Strategy by 2050 at Matenadaran. In attendance were members of government, students and schoolchildren
Addressing the audience, the Prime Minister said:
“Dear members of government,
Dear students, schoolchildren!
Dear attendees,
Dear compatriots,
First of all, let me once again congratulate all of us on the 29th anniversary of Armenia’s Independence. Taking note of the government's recent decision and considering the exceptional nature of today’s presentation, I will deliver my remarks without wearing a mask. At the same time, I would like to remind the need to comply with the anti-epidemic rules.
So, let me present the Strategy. First of all, what is the purpose of the strategy? I will try to answer this question from today’s perspective, and let us look at today’s reality through the eyes of 30 years ago. Did we have an idea of the Republic of Armenia in 2020?
I should state to my great regret that we have not had such a strategy for the past 30 years at least on a state level, and perhaps that is the reason for many problems we are facing today. Now, I would like to elaborate on the practical meaning of the strategy.
Let us squeeze these 30 years into a single day and imagine that we wake up in the morning and do not know where to go and what to do. What will happen in this case? We will stay at the same point; we will find ourselves in a vicious circle. And, therefore, the 30-year transformation strategy is important for us to understand what we want, where we are going and how we represent our Motherland, the Republic of Armenia in 2050.”
The Prime Minister touched upon the structure of the strategy and talked about the idea, vision and actions behind it: “It is extremely important to answer the question why the incumbent government is presenting a strategy by the year 2050. Because we perceive the strategy of transformation of Armenia not only as a government action plan, but also as an all- national movement in which state leadership should play a central role, which should involve professionals, and, of course, the people should consider it as their own strategy.”
Nikol Pashinyan noted that this strategy refers not only to the reforms, but also to the transformations that must take place in all types of public relations, as a result of which we will be able to achieve a jump-start development. At the same time, the strategy may be amended over time, and the government is looking forth to a broad public discussion on this issue that can lead to specific changes, including through the expression of election results.
Dwelling on the ideological basis of the strategy, the Prime Minister noted: “The proposed changes are based on our national values, national goals and public demand. We need to understand what is the transformation’s ultimate goal and what task are we setting thereby? Of course, the most powerful ideological basis is the recently adopted National Security Strategy, which outlines the whole range of our national values, though 4 basic values can be singled out from a strategic point of view:
1. Armenian statehood: statehood is the only tool that allows us to make crucial decisions. We perceive statehood as a key value, and in this respect, I consider it important to state that our statehood’s viability and eternity is a practical issue that we must solve.
2. Education: Education is a cornerstone, it is the only tool with which we can identify our problems and find relevant solutions.
3. Individual: family and society consist of individuals, and we consider the individual to be a national asset. By the way, I consider the individual effort to be a dominant idea in today’s Armenia.
4. Labor: labor is the only instrument through which we can tap our creative potential. The government must implement a policy conducive to high-quality education, individual freedoms and people’s self-development, so that they could materialize their creative potential through labor.
The Premier noted that another core element is the statement of our national goals - the eternity of the Armenian statehood, the importance of Armenian citizenship, the preservation and development of our national identity and the mobilization of the pan-Armenian potential.
Coming to the formation of a pan-Armenian axis, Nikol Pashinyan underscored that by saying consolidation of pan-Armenian potential, we should imply equal participation of men and women in decision-making processes at both national and state levels.
“Women are a majority in our country, but several factors have prevented them to make use of their full potential in public life, including the Armed Forces, the economy and the system of state administration. By saying consolidated pan-Armenian potential, we should imply not only Armenians worldwide, but also those social layers, in particular women whose potential can be used effectively while there are no institutional mechanisms or a public consensus. The effective use of this potential is a strategic task for us,” the Head of Government said.
According to the Prime Minister, the public demand for the strategy can be formulated as follows: we want to be happy in our homeland, which should offer a safe, fair, free, dignified and progressive environment. The ultimate goal of fundamental reforms is expressed in the slogan: “Let us change the attitude of millions of our compatriots and foreigners to Armenia.” The ideological basis of the strategy can be summed up in three main slogans: “Armenia is my home, people are my family,” “Let us build a new Armenia” and “The future of Armenia depends on one person, and I am that very person.”
Concerning the strategy’s vision, Nikol Pashinyan noted that the development vectors are based on key national values and goals. The Premier presented a vision of tangible indicators and results expected until 2050, then talked about the measures envisaged in the Strategy. In particular, he singled out the following 16 mega-goals:
- Well-trained and capable citizens, people
- Protected and safe Armenia
- Efficient and accountable governance
- Healthy and wealthy citizens, people
- Large and prosperous families
- Rule-of-law
- Mass exports of processed goods
- Clean and green Armenia
- Wise territorial development
- Skilled and high-yielding farming
- Repatriation and integration
- Globally networked Armenia
- Renewable and affordable energy
- Business-friendly environment
- High-tech Armenia
- Recognizable, respectful and hospitable Armenia
The Prime Minister next dwelt on the goals, problems and solutions on the way to achieving the above mega-goals. Nikol Pashinyan reiterated the need to form a nationwide movement to transform Armenia.
“In the near future we will have a website referred to as “Armenia-2050,” which will become a working platform for discussion, suggestions and criticism. When we saw in the new year of 2020, I declared that we had to shift to strategic management. We planned to hold this presentation in April - on Citizens Day, but we postponed it for well-known reasons. From now on, we must adhere to the principle of strategic management in our daily activities: any decision made by a state authority must have a logical and practical connection with the Strategy,” the Premier emphasized.
In conclusion, Prime Minister Pashinyan answered the questions of interest to the audience.
