Armenia signed contracts for purchase of arms and equipment worth several billion US dollars – Pashinyan

YEREVAN, January 29. /ARKA/. The Armenian government has signed contracts for the purchase of arms and equipment worth several billion US dollars in recent years, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at an event on the 32nd anniversary of the Armenian Army on Sunday.

'It is necessary to admit that the ideas rooted in us about safety and security systems and their operational formulas turned to be disastrous for us and there is no other option for the Republic of Armenia than the diversification of security relations. And we're going that way. We are on the path of acquiring new and modern weapons and equipment, and in recent years the Government has signed contracts for the purchase of several billion USD weapons and ammunition.

The military-industrial complex of the Republic of Armenia has an unprecedented order from the Armenian government worth several hundred million dollars, and of course, we will continue to invest in the military-industrial complex, simultaneously increasing the funding of science and education," the prime minister emphasized.

He noted that the tax revenues of the 2023 budget exceeded the revenues of the 2017 budget by about 2.5 billion USD. And it is also with these funds that the reform of the army and armed forces is being carried out.

As part of the reform Pashinyan recalled the "Motherland Defender" program, ‘which is right now becoming the foundation and cornerstone of a professional army.’

This is a system that allows conscripts to become at least 5-year contract soldiers, receive a monthly salary of 450,000, sometimes 500,000 AMD or more as a result of voluntary certification, serve in the nearest military unit and at the end of the five-year term, receive 5 million AMD in a lump sum, regardless of whether he wants to extend the term of the contract for another 5 years or not.-0-