Tuesday, June 5 2018 17:43

ArmInfo. Another reference laboratory will appear in Armenia. On June 5, at the hearings in the country's parliament on the execution of the state budget of 2017, RA  Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan stated.

According to him, the site for the future laboratory has already been  selected, and construction will begin soon. The main task of the new  laboratory will be to conduct research in the field of health care.  At the same time, the country's medical centers will have to dedicate  about 10% of their profits to support it, since they should be  interested in the results of the research. The financial activities  of the new structure will be monitored electronically. When  identifying corruption risks, the laboratory may be deprived of a  license. At the same time, the minister did not indicate the sources  of financing for the new project, noting only that the new laboratory  will be equipped with the latest technology and highly qualified  personnel.

In Armenia the public perceives such laboratories as dual-use objects  and it is connected with the USA.  Back in 2016, with the financing  of the Agency for Threat Reduction of the US Department of Defense,  three similar laboratories were opened in the republic - in Yerevan,  Gyumri and Ijevan. After their discovery, information was widely  publicized in Armenian and Russian media that these laboratories can  be used to create and produce biological weapons. The US announced  the civilian designation of reference laboratories, but information  about their dual appointment continues to be actively discussed in  the Armenian media. The Ministry of Defense allocated about $ 15.5  million for the creation of reference laboratories in Armenia, of  which $ 4.1 million was invested in the construction of a reference  laboratory of the food safety department for especially dangerous  pathogens of the RA Ministry of Agriculture, according to open  sources, $ 9.8 million - to repair the laboratory of the National  Center for Control and Prevention in Yerevan, and $ 1.7 million to  purchase new equipment and furniture.