Armenia’s National Assembly on Wednesday held a confirmation hearing for the the candidacy of Vahagn Khachatryan, who is slated to become Armenia’s president.
Khachataryan, who is currently Armenia’s Minister of High-Tech Industry, was nominated last month by the ruling Civil Contract party after the abrupt resignation of president Armen Sarkissian. The opposition Armenia and I Have Honor alliances opted to not nominate a candidate for the post.
During Wednesday’s parliament session, Civil Contract leader Hayk Konjoyan officially presented Khachatryan to lawmakers.
In remarks to the legislature, Khachatryan said that he aspires to be the president “of all citizens of Armenia,” by the power vested in him by the Constitution.
“The President of Armenia is also an institution for solving national issues, and I am going to play that role. There is no obstacle for me in fulfilling that role,” said Khachatryan adding that in the current fractured state of the public, he will aim to unite the people of Armenia.
Khachatryan called for cooperation from all facets of Armenia’s civil society, including government officials, political forces and civic organizations.
He said Armenia’s future economic achievements hinged on security of the country and when citizens feel “that the borders are protected.”
“Security issue, raising the defense capabilities are priorities for Armenia are are issues that must be solved as soon as possible,” he added.
“When we feel that we have stability, that there is an environment in the region that there will be no threat of war, the borders will be open. In other words, our aspiration must be to achieve stability in the region, and the best guarantee for that is to have security guarantees,” he added.
Khachatryan, who is not a member of any political party, gave an endorsement for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s policy of attaining regional peace.
He said that Armenia must seek to establish good relations with it neighbors as a logical step toward the country’s development.
“Speaking and negotiating is a better way than arguing or fighting or showing force to anyone. We can show force with knowledge and skills,” Khachataryan said.
