YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. A Cabinet meeting was held on November 23, chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Government of Armenia, before proceeding to the agenda, the Prime Minister issued a number of instructions.

The Premier’s first instruction referred to the process of elaboration of Armenia’s digital agenda strategy and the 2018 Action Plan. “We have already talked about the importance of the digital agenda and the implementation of a coordinated government policy in this area. In this framework, work on the development of the Armenia Digital Agenda – 2030 long-term strategy is nearing completion. At the same time, we need to carry out specific short-term programs, especially in those areas where digitization is of primary importance,” the Prime Minister noted.

To this end, Karen Karapetyan gave the heads of central executive agencies 3 days to submit to the Government Staff the list of those high ranking officials responsible for coordinating the digitization campaign. They were likewise instructed to develop and submit to the Government Staff within two weeks proposals concerning the 2018 Action Plan in order to get the opinion of the Digital Armenia Foundation.

The Prime Minister’s next instruction was about the assessment of the expected impact of regulatory legal acts. The Premier told the heads of central executive authorities to explore and analyze the proposals so developed, and provide clear arguments in case of disapproval.

The meeting decided to allocate money from the Government’s reserve fund in order to support the residents of those communities affected by hailstorms, frostbite and mudflows. Money will be allocated from the Government’s reserve fund to the State Water Management Committee of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to ensure that a 50% discount is applied to irrigation water fees in Meghri region of Syunik Province in 2017.

The Cabinet passed a resolution aimed at addressing the housing needs of 12 homeless families in the disaster zone.

The Cabinet approved the government’s legislative initiatives on a series of draft laws. In particular, the bills “On amending the law of the Republic of Armenia On Budgetary System” and “On amending the law of the Republic of Armenia On Public Debt” seek to streamline the principles of fiscal policy applicable in the system of public finance management through the use of additional regulations. The amendments to the Tax Code and related laws suggest new approaches to reducing the “shadow” turnover in the economy.

Legislative amendments are also proposed to improve the business environment. The relevant package of bills is expected to ensure harmonization of the applicable concepts, regulations and references with the new Tax Code and related laws that will be effective as of January 1.

In this connection, the Prime Minister noted that package of bills is aimed at improving the business environment and creating more comfortable conditions for businessmen. “Moreover, in the near future we will take up the proposals aimed at improving the business environment submitted by the Center for Strategic Initiatives and other public agencies. Coming to the SRC-voiced proposals for bringing evasive businesses into the legal field, I want to mention most importantly that we have always been guided by the principle that any bill or proposal harmful to business is unacceptable. That is to say, the only criterion for us is to ensure that no unnecessary impediments are created for law-abiding businessmen,” the Premier said, stressing that the public needs to be informed about the foregoing amendments.

The Government approved the program of data storage in the Republic of Armenia, the relevant roadmap and the format of public-private sector cooperation. The program will set common rules of the game, formulate unified criteria and standards for digital systems and services, and will help the stakeholders to effectively introduce the latest security and information protection systems.