PM touches upon emigration
RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan today met with the presidency of the Writers' Union of Armenia and intellectuals at the scholars' monastery in Oshakan within the framework of the visit to Aragatsotni province. Attending the meeting were RA Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan and President of the Writers' Union of Armenia Levon Ananyan.
The head of government touched upon a group of intellectuals' concern over emigration and answered their questions.
According to the RA Prime Minister, the migration issue is always in the government's center of attention since demography has been the most serious issue facing Armenia since 1991.
"There are 3 million people living in Armenia, but there are twice as many Armenians living abroad. This also shows our nation's mobility. We must also underline that the lack of workplaces is another contributing factor for emigration. Our studies show that the number one factor for emigration is the lack of workplaces. These are the two main issues," Tigran Sargsyan mentioned.
According to him, the greatest negative indicator of migration was recorded between the years of 1991 and 1995, reaching 200,000.
Sargsyan says there should be precaution and the phenomenon of seasonal work abroad should be taken into account when working with statistics. "Even if we are talking about 2,500-3,000 people leaving the country, this phenomenon will be the most serious issue of concern once again," the head of government underlined.
In December 2010, the RA Government confirmed the strategy on the migration policy, which clearly specified the government's goals and targets. Touching upon the bordering regions, the prime minister mentioned that that is also in the government's center of attention and that proportional territorial development is one of the primary directions of the program.
Speaking of the stimulation of the birthrate, Tigran Sargsyan stated that the government has implemented huge programs in this sphere in the past five years.
"Women giving birth receive free assistance, and corruption risks have been reduced to a minimum. International organizations in charge of assessing corruption risks have recorded huge success. There have been more subsidies for children, even during the economic crisis," said the prime minister.
