Tigran Sargsyan re-appointed as Armenian Prime Minister. It is a sign that the government will pursue its programme of cautious reforms despite opposition from several quarters.

The Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan yesterday signed a decree, re-appointing Tigran Sargsyan as Prime Minister. The decision had earlier been discussed and approved by the Board of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia.

Tigran Sargsyan, considered by some as a reformist and professional technocrat, has over the last years faced criticism from various quarters for his programme of cautious reforms that were resisted by various groups with vested interest in maintaining Armenia's closed and monopolistic economy. Sargsyan has also been sometimes criticised by others who think that his reform programme was not ambitious enough.

The re-appointment of Tigran Sargsyan as Prime Minister was likely one of the major obstacles that eventually led to the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), the second largest party in the Armenian parliament, not joining the coalition government. PAP is considered to be under the influence of former president Robert Kocharian who has in the past openly criticised Tigran Sargsyan's policies.

The Prime Minister has in the last two years also spearheaded an Armenian charm offensive towards the European Union, which has resulted in Armenia making progress in its negotiations with the EU on the proposed Association Agreement. Sargsyan will in fact travel to Brussels today for meetings with various European politicians and to address a meeting at one of the Brussels based think-tanks. He is expected to form a new government within the next two weeks.

source: commonspace.eu

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Ramadan begins

Ramadan begins

The Muslim Holy month of Ramadan started on Wednesday, 18 February. For Muslims across the world, the holy month of Ramadan is a time for religious reflection, increased worship, charity and community. Observant Muslims abstain from all forms of food and drink between the hours of dawn and sunset whilst trying to reconnect with their faith. Islam adheres to the lunar calendar. This means that the month of Ramadan begins when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted  The lunar calendar is 10 to 11 days shorter than the modern 365-day Gregorian calendar, which is based on the Earth's rotation around the sun. This difference means Ramadan begins on a different day each year.  In Muslim-majority countries, dedicated state committees check for the crescent moon and officially announce the start of Ramadan. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and several other Gulf countries claimed to have sighted the crescent moon on 17 February and declared 18 February as the first day of Ramadan. However, Egypt, Turkey Jordan and some other countries said the crescent moon was not sighted and therefore announced that Ramadan would begin on Thursday 19 February. This means that the month of fasting will likely end on either Wednesday 18 March or Thursday 19 March, as there are either 29 or 30 days in a lunar month. As a result, Eid al-Fitr, the festival of breaking the fast, is likely to fall on either Thursday 19 March or Friday 20 March. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. Muslims tend to celebrate Eid with a small breakfast and give to charity before Eid prayers in congregation.

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)