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On November 16 the National Assembly began the work of the next four-day sittings.

At the beginning of the sitting by the proposal of the NA Speaker Galust Sahakyan the deputies in one-minute silence honoured the memory of the victims who fell as a consequence of the bloody terror attacks in Paris on November 13, and earlier in Beirut.

“We strictly condemn those inhuman acts and refuse any manifestation of terror. In the name of the RA National Assembly we express our sincere sorrow and support to our French and Lebanese colleagues, to the friendly peoples of France and Lebanon,” said the NA Speaker.

Afterwards the deputies welcomed the teachers and the pupils of Yerevan Beniamin Zhamkochian N 119 Senior School, who visited the parliament within the framework of the NA Open Doors programme.

The NA Speaker Galust Sahakyan presented the draft agendas of the session, the four-day sittings, as well as the decision on postponing a number of draft laws. The parliament by voting approved the draft agendas and the NA decision.

The parliament began debating the draft law on the RA draft law “On the RA State Budget for 2016,” which submitted the RA Minister of Finance Gagik Khachatryan.

The minister noted that during the budgetary debates the deputies presented numerous recommendations, which would be taken into consideration revising the draft law.

The MPs addressed many questions to the RA Minister of Finance, which related to the financial means allocated to the healthcare, social spheres by the draft state budget for 2016, the rise of minimum salary and pensions, the optimization of the expenditures of the state administration and inspection systems, the foreign debt of Armenia, the problems of the financial leveling of the communities, the possibility of the increase of the tax revenues after Armenia’s joining the EEC, as well as the amendment to the tax legislation, the volumes of the shadow economy, the necessity of the growth of the investments for the economic development, etc.

The CB Chairman Artur javadyan submitted the endorsement of the RA CB on the RA draft law “On the RA State Budget for 2016.”

Artur Javadyan answered the deputies’ questions, which related to the loan interests, the service of the foreign debt, the tax-budgetary policy, the availability of the gold reserve, the inflation, the possibility of the investments, dram-currency forecast, etc.

The Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs Gagik Minasyan presented the endorsement of the Committee on the draft state budget. He noted that the planned social policy will continue to be implemented.

The National Assembly will resume the work of the four-day sittings on November 17.