Pashinyan explains long visa queues at EU embassies

ArmInfo.  During a government meeting on January 9, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the issue of lengthy queues at the embassies of EU countries for submitting documents for visas, which <causes great discontent>.  According to Pashinyan, the passenger flow between Armenia and the European Union has increased several times over the past five years.  He noted that this situation is a result of ongoing reforms in the aviation industry and the rising standard of living of citizens.

<EU partners say that the number of applications from citizens far exceeds all possible forecasts. In other words, they predicted that they would have to solve the visa issue for 300 people within a month, but they are now handling requests from 3,000 people. Despite increasing their capabilities by collaborating with colleagues from the Foreign Ministry,  the demand continues to grow exponentially,>  Pashinyan said.  According to the Prime Minister, the consumer  behavior of Armenian citizens has also changed. This change is not only related to reforms in the aviation sector, but also to the  financial capabilities of citizens.

<An increasing number of people in Armenia, who previously chose to stay in Armenia or visit Georgia for the New Year holidays, have now choosing to travel by air. People have flown either to Europe, or to the Middle East, or to other countries. This is also a result of changes in the level of well-being of people, or at least their consumer mentality and overall well-being,> Nikol Pashinyan concluded.