We must make efforts to ensure efficiency and development - Nikol  Pashinyan

ArmInfo.Today, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hosted the participants of the "iGorts" program intended for the involvement of diaspora specialists in the  state administration bodies of the Republic of Armenia.

In his welcoming address, the Prime Minister said:

"High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs,

Dear participants of "iGorts" program,

I welcome you all and I am glad for the meeting. I am also glad that  the program is being successfully implemented, and during the  previous years we actually had quite a lot of people who have been  employed in the state administration system of the Republic of  Armenia.

I hope that also after this round, many of those present will stay to  work in Armenia, to support the Republic of Armenia in increasing the  efficiency of the administration and management of state  institutions, because in fact, our greatest need and necessity, like  any state, is to have and attract personnel who are able to solve  issues, rather than raising questions. That, I think, is the biggest  problem, and I hope that those present are people with those skills  and abilities.

And also, of course, this becomes a special format, a special mission  in this historical period, and I want to thank all of you for showing  this willingness, because for participate in this program, you have  to make a decision, and it is not an easy decision at all.

I hope that this decision you made will not bring disappointment,  first of all to you, and as a result of that decision, the quality of  our public administration system will improve, our relations with the  diaspora will be more substantive and concrete, and the results will  be more measurable and tangible."

High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan thanked Prime  Minister Pashinyan for the appreciation and provided details on the  progress of the program, stating the following.

"Honorable Mr. Prime Minister, dear "iGorts" participants,

The Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of the  Republic of Armenia has been implementing the "iGorts" program since  2020, the goals of which are the improvement of the state  administration system, the involvement of the Diaspora in the  administration system, as well as professional repatriation. The  program participants are involved in the work of the state  administration bodies of the Republic of Armenia for a period of 1  year. Their work experience and abilities are applied in the works  and programs implemented by state bodies, contribute to the  implementation of innovative ideas and field research.

About 68 percent of the participants of the previous 2 rounds were  repatriated, against the expected 25 percent. Some of them have been  appointed to high positions, namely deputy minister, committee  chairman, director of the SNPO, advisor to the minister and other  public service positions. 60 percent of the participants of the  2021-2022 program who remained in Armenia got a job, 13 of them in  the state administration bodies of Armenia.

Let me talk a little about the "iGorts" program 2022-2023. This year  again we have 50 experts working in 24 different departments,  including new departments for this year, such as the Statistical  Committee, the Television and Radio Commission and the Market  Supervision Inspection Body. The participants have arrived from  Russia, USA, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Egypt, France, Canada,  Belarus and Ukraine.

As you can see, Mr. Prime Minister, our "iGorts" participants are  mostly young, but we have representatives from all age groups. Of  course, we don't have any age restrictions and have no such  intentions. They work with great enthusiasm despite all the  difficulties. On the contrary, everyone realizes that with their  involvement, with their participation, they bear a small part of the  responsibility and burden".

The participants of the "iGorts" program expressed their gratitude to  the Government of the Republic of Armenia for the opportunity to work  in various state departments of our country and presented their work  and shared their impressions.

An exchange of ideas followed. The Prime Minister answered many  questions of the participants of the meeting, which related to the  reforms of the state administration system, foreign policy, security  challenges, reforms in the education sector, realization of the  potential of the Diaspora, promotion of repatriation, digitalization  agenda, social programs, balanced territorial development, etc. Nikol  Pashinyan presented the steps and programs implemented by the  Government in the mentioned directions, and referred to the upcoming  activities.

Summarizing the meeting, the Prime Minister once again emphasized the  "iGorts" program, one of the goals of which is to use the potential  of our compatriots in the Diaspora in overcoming the challenges  facing our state. "Our goal is to make Armenia an attractive and  comfortable country to live in. We need to identify the root causes  of existing problems and try to solve them. One of the fundamental  reasons is the low or non-existent level of institutionalization. It  is greatly appreciated that you have come and want to contribute your  experience to the accomplishment of state institutions of Armenia. We  must make efforts to ensure efficiency and development," said Nikol  Pashinyan and wished success to "iGorts" participants.