YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, NOYAN TAPAN. Until now 600 refugee families have received apartment purchase certificates by the state program "Provision of Apartments to Persons Displaced from Azerbaijan in 1988-1992" implemented since 2005. Gagik Eganian, Head of the Migration Agency of the RA Ministry of Territorial Governance, said at the January 31 press conference that the program envisages to provide 3,300 refugee families with permanent housing. According to him, this year 819 mln drams (about 2.2 mln USD) will be allocated from the state budget for the program's implementation in Abovian. The program will also be implemented in Yerevan in 2008. He said that in 2006, 70 refugee families received apartments with resources allocated by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Armenia Office, and 149 families - with resources of the Norwegian Refugee Council. The department head said that 1,198 refugees were granted Armenian citizenship in 2006. Until now 75 thousand refugees have been granted Armenian citizenship.

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