Pashinyan’s office refuses to disclose public spending on wife’s events citing national security
Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan’s office has refused to reveal how much public money was spent on his wife Anna Hakobyan’s Learning is Trendy events, claiming that information about the project’s funding was a ‘state secret’.
On Monday, Factor TV quoted the Prime Minister’s Office as saying that the expenses for the event were being covered under the law ‘On Ensuring the Security of Persons Subject to Special State Protection’.
They said that services for the events were ‘included in the procurement plan containing state secrets, therefore the requested information is not subject to publication’.
Similar responses were sent to several media outlets.
FIP received a similar response, with the prime minister’s office noting that only events in which Pashinyan participated were being financed from the state budget. They told the outlet that they had ‘no information about other funding sources or co-financing organisations for the implementation of the mentioned initiative’.
Earlier in June, Armenian authorities revealed that the Learning is Trendy education campaign founded by Hakobyan had been funded by the state. Pashinyan’s Chief of Staff, Arayik Harutyunyan, additionally claimed that it was a ‘priority programme’ for Pashinyan.
Learning is Trendy involves a series of talks mimicking Ted Talks, which was created by Hakobyan and launched in November 2024. The talks have been held since March by Hakobyan’s My Step Foundation, with Pashinyan frequently featuring as a guest speaker in events across the country.
Government watchdogs have expressed concern over reports suggesting that the initiative was being funded by the state, with critics saying that the talks were part of a pre-election strategy ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
