Armenian Government Approves a Bill on Establish Foreign Intelligence Service

YEREVAN — The Armenian Government has approved a bill to establish “On Foreign Intelligence Activity and Foreign Intelligence Service”.

The 2021-2026 Government Action Plan stipulates the imperative to have a foreign intelligence service. Given the problems in the process of providing information by intelligence agencies during the Artsakh wars of 2016 and 2020, and taking into consideration the need to improve the efficiency and quality of intelligence information, the government believes Armenia has an imperative to have a new quality intelligence and to form its own intelligence school in order to ensure the continuity of intelligence activities and the improvement of the field.

The executive says the establishment of the foreign intelligence service will not only contribute to increasing the functional efficiency of the NSS, enabling it to focus on counter-intelligence and combating terrorism, but will also provide an opportunity to respond more flexibly and adequately to the challenges of the rapidly changing world and region.

The Government’s legislative initiative was assessed as urgent and will be submitted to the National Assembly.

Referring to the drafts, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, “The world is changing dynamically, and the ways and methods of external intelligence are also undergoing very significant changes. It is very important for us to be able to transform and develop our capabilities according to modern conditions and requirements. In that sense, I think one of the important things is that intelligence methods, forms and formulas in the world are developing in a way that is not always directly related to the nature of military service. And we have made a decision in this regard, and it is also mentioned in the transformation strategy of Armenia until 2050.”

The Prime Minister voiced hope that the adoption of the drafts would contribute to the development of the country’s foreign intelligence capabilities.