The Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Parliament of Armenia, held its first meeting. A representative of Armenia’s government participated in the meeting.

In discussing one of the bills, a number of MP, Khachatur Kokobelyan (Heritage party), Vahram Baghdasaryan and Alexan Petrosyan (Republican Party of Armenia - RPA), proposed providing greater-than-planned benefits to Armenia’s borderline regions.

Alexan Petrosyan proposed exempting borderline villages from all taxes.

Hrant Bagratyan, an MP of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC), was surprised at the proposal.

“Most of the people absent from Armenia are actually from the borderline regions. So we must show special attention to borderline villages. And not only this, but also the land tax, water supply. In some borderline villages people see doctors once a month. They pull their aching teeth out with pliers,” Petrosyan said.

Committee Chairman Vartan said that “this conceptual issue has nothing to do with law.”