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On November 13, the debate of the draft law on the State Budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2026 continued in the National Assembly.

In their speeches, the deputies and the members of the Government presented their observations on the main financial document for the coming year.

The MPs of the Civil Contract Faction highlighted the reforms implemented in recent years, as a result of which positive changes and economic growth have been recorded in numerous sectors. Economic growth trends, external and internal challenges, as well as some domestic political realities in the context of current geopolitical realities were touched upon.

The MPs of the opposition Armenia Faction have blamed the ruling party for its foreign and domestic policies, and the members of the ruling Civil Contract Faction have blamed the opposition for not noticing positive reforms in many spheres and for baseless accusations.

The MPs of the Civil Contract Faction stated that the purpose of their policy is to reach a new level of socio-economic development through peace, and the 2026 budget is the first manifestation of that policy after the establishment of peace.

It is planned to allocate 15.4 billion drams to the RA Ministry of Environment to implement 6 budget programs with 25 measures. This was noted by the RA Minister of Environment Hambardzum Matevosyan. He touched upon the largest environmental event to be held in Yerevan in October 2026, the Seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) of the UN, presented the significance and budgetary framework of the event. According to the rapporteur, Armenia will be not only the organizer of the event, to be hosted by COP17, but also a platform for global environmental dialogue, the main negotiator of the processes, and will act as an international and regional bridge. “We will have the opportunity to promote diplomatic and economic relations, raise the international reputation of Armenia in the field of environmental policy, encourage scientific and youth engagement by creating new research, educational and innovation opportunities, promote the development of ecotourism and hospitality, which will have an economic chain effect in the fields of service provision, transportation, construction and information technology,” the Minister noted.

Current environmental programmes, the works regarding afforestation and reforestation to be carried out next year were presented.

The Government is consistently working towards ensuring the security and defense capabilities of our country, as well as the continuous development of the army. The RA Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan stated this. He spoke about the current results of the reforms stemming from the Government programme and the concept of transforming the RA Army, as well as presented statistical data on the increase in defence expenditure in recent years. It was noted that the expenditures made in 2023-2025 and to be made in 2026 are unprecedented, as a result of which it was possible to implement a number of reforms, including the certification program for military personnel. “Today, a contract soldier can receive an additional salary from 205 to 470 thousand drams as a result of certification,” the Minister underlined, adding that this is a significant improvement.

The rapporteur also touched on the changes and investments made in the field of military education.

The RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan gave an extraordinary speech. He spoke about the work regarding the ‘300 schools, 500 kindergartens’ project by the 2026 draft state budget. “All necessary work is planned to complete the project in 2026. Those will be completed within the specified deadlines, and we will have a fully implemented project by the end of the year: 300 schools built or renovated and provided with new equipment,” the rapporteur stated. According to him, construction or renovation work will be completed in 110 schools by the end of 2025. The Deputy Prime Minister informed that the decisions on the selection of schools to be built or renovated were made as a result of the joint work of the Ministries of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the Urban Development Committee, as well as regional municipalities. It was noted that the number of kindergartens or preschools being renovated will reach 500 by the end of the year, and the work is planned be completed in 2026.

102.6 billion AMD is designed to allocate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. An allocation of 101.4 billion drams is designed for current expenditures, and 1.2 billion drams - for capital expenditures. The Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan said this.

The in-depth process of reforms will also continue in 2026. This year, work on the formation of the unified educational complex of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was completed. In the current year the work of forming unified educational complex of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been completed.

The amendments to the law on Police Code of Conduct and Discipline and related draft were adopted.

More than 10,000 police officers have gone through various educational processes and become part of the police system. On November 1, the Police Guard was launched. It will be one of the most important directions of the internal security system.

The Minister of Internal Affairs presented the reforms in the patrol service, criminal and community police, public services, the steps taken to detect crime and statistics. In this context, it was noted that the Government is currently developing a Crime Prevention Strategy.

The RA Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan described the 2026 state budget as historic, noting that the first stage of universal health insurance will be introduced. In the first year, up to 1 million 700 thousand citizens will be included in the system, and in the following 3 years, the entire population will become beneficiaries of insurance. “It is historic because the dream of the 90s - to have accessible healthcare - will be realized,” the Minister noted, adding that no family, even the richest, spends as much on its family’s health as the state does today and especially will do in the future.

The Minister presented in detail the measures implemented in various directions.