Critical situation requires correct assessment of available opportunities and resources and their maximum efficient use – Artsakh State Minister

YEREVAN, November 17. /ARKA/. Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabakh) newly appointed State Minister (prime minister) Ruben Vardanyan chaired a meeting of the government on Wednesday that approved the draft budget for 2023.

"My position is that we should reconsider the budgetary approaches. But the budget process began before my appointment , so taking into account the importance of maintaining financial sustainability, at this stage it is necessary to approve the draft budget but to work on the development of a new one on the principles of program budgeting," Vardanyan was quoted as saying by the Artsakh government press office.

Speaking about the financial and economic situation, the State Minister noted that the created difficult conditions no longer allow working in the former mode.

"We have serious problems, including a big budget deficit, and to solve these problems we need to make difficult and sometimes even unpopular decisions. Otherwise, we will not be able to overcome the crisis. I am telling this so that we clearly understand the reality and realize that we will have to overcome many difficult situations together," Vardanyan stressed.

At the end of the meeting the State Minister instructed the government bodies and their subordinate institutions and organizations to refrain from organizing additional purchases and assume new financial obligations till the end of the year.

Billionaire and social entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan renounced his Russian citizenship in September and moved to Nagorno-Karabakh ‘to stand together with the people of Artsakh who are experiencing a heavy psychological crisis with no confidence in tomorrow.’-0-