Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan welcomed participants of the 'iGorts' program aimed at involving specialists from the diaspora in the state governance of the Republic of Armenia. This was reported by the government press service.
"The Prime Minister, greeting those present, noted that recently there have been certain processes of repatriation or immigration in Armenia: in 2025, the number of citizens of the Republic of Armenia returning to the country exceeded the number of those who left by more than 8000. According to Nikol Pashinyan, people are returning to Armenia, purchasing real estate, making investments, and trying to connect their lives with Armenia. "Unlike 2014, even 2019-2020, today the trends of repatriation are becoming more confident, including due to the peace agenda and established peace, because this is also a factor that we must definitely consider," said Nikol Pashinyan.
The Prime Minister noted that the 'iGorts' program is part of the logic of this process and expressed hope that it will become a more practical and reliable mechanism for return.
Referring to his statement about involving graduates from the world's top 200 universities in the state governance system of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan informed that specific appointments have already been made, and new appointments are expected soon. The Prime Minister noted that some of them have encountered the opportunity to work in the state governance system of Armenia for the first time due to the 'iGorts' program.
"Now we are increasingly focused on the perception of today's and future Armenia, which we have formulated in the ideology of Real Armenia. If we were to formulate it in one sentence, this ideology is about ensuring the security and well-being of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, freedom, preservation of identity, and development in the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia," said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister stated that ideas and ideologies in Armenia have usually been formulated by elites and imposed on the public and the people. Nikol Pashinyan noted that as a result of the transitional phase of this ideology, the ideology of Real Armenia has been formulated, which has also been implemented rapidly. "I am now convinced that the immigration process will be institutional because today Armenia is governed by a logic and ideology that is not imposed on the people by elites, but is imposed on the governing power by the people. Therefore, I believe that this is a new situation in our history that opens up endless horizons for our state," the Prime Minister emphasized, highlighting the importance and necessity of moving forward with the opened horizons.
In this context, Nikol Pashinyan added that these valuable processes of repatriation are not accidental. "I hope that we can also develop this logic, including through the reformulation of relations between Armenia and the diaspora, and truly make Armenia a developing state whose population grows primarily due to repatriation and, of course, also due to the implementation of demographic strategy. There is a very significant role for the human potential that will be involved in implementing this plan and strategy. The 'iGorts' program is a system that meets this potential and these people, and I hope it will become increasingly effective over time," he added.
The acting chief commissioner for diaspora affairs, Zareh Sinanyan, thanked the Prime Minister for hosting the 6th cohort of participants and provided details about the program. It was noted that 68-70% of participants from the previous five years remained in Armenia, with 15% continuing to work in the state apparatus.
The number of participants in the program is 45. They have arrived from Sweden, Spain, the Russian Federation, Norway, Hungary, France, Jordan, Belarus, Brazil, Argentina, Iran, and Austria," the statement said.
