Sharp modernization of Armenian Armed Forces is a requirement of time – President Sargsyan
The Armenian Army today is strong and powerful, capable of fulfilling its tasks, President and Commander in-Chief of the Armed Forces Serzh Sargsyan said during the session the Defense Ministry’s National Defense Research University signaling the launch of the university’s new educational program.
“Today our Army is strong and powerful, but this doesn’t mean that our Armed Forces should not be improved and develop. Today we are setting a new, extremely high threshold. The sharp upgrading of the Armenian Armed Forces is a requirement of time. This is also dictated by today’s and future’s challenges. Today I set a task to develop a new 7-year program for modernization of the Army for 2018-2025. We should implement this program through joint efforts, including me, as Commander in-Chief, the defense minister, the commanding staff of the Armed Forces, our soldiers and the entire society”, Serzh Sargsyan said.
The President tasked the defense minister to report on the works carried out within two months. After discussions and amendments this program will be approved on January 28, 2018 – the birthday of the Army.
“At this stage this program must be one of the major tasks of our state, if not the most important. 7 years later today’s powerful Army should reach a new qualitative level. The first key direction of modernization is the smooth shift to new governance system of the Armed Forces deriving from the Constitutional changes. The draft law on ‘Defense’ which at the moment is being discussed in the Parliament solves an important, but only the first part of this issue, that is the legal formulation. Thereafter, a detailed work will be required in terms of developing and introducing sub-legislative acts and implementing practical steps in the correct order”, the President said.
He highlighted that the Army modernization refers to the organizational level, the weapon types, and the social issues of servicemen, in other words to th entire range of issues linked with the Army.
“We have always been engaged in this, but now the task is to accelerate these processes by ensuring quick development. We need to move forward by progressive rates. As you know, sharp increase of military expenditures is expected in the budget of the next year. The increase, however, will not be limited to only one year, it will be continuous. You know that over the past years the number and quality of our weapons has been sharply improved. These works are going to be continuous. Year by year we will have new and significant achievements on this path”, the Armenian President said.
