On September 12–13, the Ministry of Labor and Welfare organized an off-site seminar and discussion with media representatives on recent reforms in the labor and welfare sectors.

The event featured presentations by Minister of Labor and Welfare Arsen Torosyan, Svetislav Paunovic, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, Deputy Ministers Artyom Smbatyan, Lusine Kocharyan and Roza Babayan and Council of Europe partners.

The presentations were followed by a thematic question and answer session, during which journalists raised questions of interest concerning the topics discussed. The leadership of the Unified Social Service also participated in the discussions.

In his remarks, Minister Torosyan emphasized the importance of maintaining a high level of public awareness of the progress of sectoral reforms and upcoming initiatives, highlighting the important role of the media in this regard. The Minister also answered questions from media representatives concerning the reforms underway in the sector.

During the two-day seminar, participants addressed pension provision, demographics, employment, and state support programs for housing provision, as well as the new system for assessing family vulnerability.

At the conclusion of the discussion, participants highlighted the importance of holding meetings in this format, emphasizing the value of open and professional dialogue, information exchange, and strengthened cooperation on reforms being implemented in the sector.

The seminar and discussion were organized with the support of the Council of Europe’s “Strengthening Social Human Rights in Armenia” project, which forms part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023–2026.