Armenia parliament approves budget law for 2018December 8, 2017 - 11:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian National Assembly on Friday, December 8 approved the draft annual budget law for 2018 with a vote of 64-35. Lawmakers from the ruling Republican Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun voted in favor. The budget expenditures will grow from AMD 1.36 trillion in 2017 to AMD 1.464 trillion next year, revenues will reach AMD 1.307 trillion from AMD 1.21 trillion last year, with the budget deficit set to stand at AMD 156 billion. The country's defense expenditures will grow by 17,6% to about $518 million in 2018. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |