YEREVAN — Armenia’s first Stra- tegic and Systemic Sports Reform Forum was held today at the Yerevan State Sports College of Olympic Re- serve, bringing together key stakehold- ers from across the country’s sports sector. Welcoming participants, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan empha- sized the importance of making such discussions a regular occurrence and said the goal is to turn the forum into an annual platform. “This will be a good opportunity for organizations and representatives active in the sports sector to come to- gether, summarize the work that has been carried out, discuss upcoming priorities and joint programs, and ex- plore ways to implement them more effectively,” Andreasyan said. The minister said the forum’s agenda covers the government’s main strategic priorities in sports, rang- ing from elite and mass participation sports to infrastructure development, public-private partnerships, the orga- nization of international competitions, and digitalization. Andreasyan also presented figures on state funding for the sector. Accord- ing to her, government allocations for mass sports have increased fifteenfold compared with 2018, while funding for elite sports has risen nearly fivefold. “This means that state funding di- rected toward sports has grown at a significantly higher rate,” she said. The minister stressed that the in- creased funding is being directed to- ward specific goals and programs, including the development of sports infrastructure. She noted that substantial invest- ments have also been made in the Ye- revan State Sports College of Olympic Reserve. According to Andreasyan, during the institution’s 55-year history, the amount of funding allocated over the past five years alone has been so significant that all previous allocations combined amounted to less than 10 percent of that total. Among the government’s other pri- orities, Andreasyan said approximate- ly 100 arts and sports schools will be built or renovated, while sports com- plexes will be developed in consolidat- ed communities through public-private partnerships. She added that around 25,000 schoolchildren currently participate in the Prime Minister’s Cup competi- tions. The government also plans to host at least two major international cham- pionships in Armenia each year. A new football stadium is expected to be built in Ijevan, while the stadium in Vana- dzor will be renovated. Andreasyan identified digitaliza- tion as another priority for the sports sector and said a Sports Expo will also be organized in cooperation with pri- vate-sector partners.