Opposition lawmaker Edgar Ghazaryan questioned a proposed 44% increase in funding for Armenia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs during parliamentary discussions on the 2027 state budget.
Addressing Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan, Ghazaryan, a member of the Strong Armenia parliamentary faction, challenged the justification for the increase.
“Perhaps our country no longer needs external security? Is the Interior Ministry supposed to ensure the security of just a few people? What has happened to justify such a sharp increase?” he asked, Panorama.am reports.
Ghazaryan noted that the ministry, including its Rescue Service, had previously received international financial assistance. He asked whether such funding was taken into account when preparing the state budget, raising concerns about the possibility of the same programmes receiving support from both domestic and external sources.
Hovhannisyan explained that reforms launched within the Interior Ministry several years ago required continued funding, accounting for the proposed 44% increase in 2027.
“The Interior Ministry does not deal with the security of one or a few individuals. It deals with everyone’s security,” the minister said.
Hovhannisyan also stated that he had no information about the international funding cited by Ghazaryan.
The lawmaker responded that it was the first time he had encountered a finance minister unaware of several million dollars in external assistance.
The exchange took place during joint meetings of the National Assembly’s standing committees examining the draft 2027 state budget.
