Thursday, April 25 2013 17:50
USAID to launch a new program in Armenia
ArmInfo. In 2012 USAID will launch a new program in Armenia - Finance for Economic Development (FED), Coordinator of the finished Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) program Sisak Mkhitaryan said in an interview to ArmInfo.
He said that the FED will be a follow up on the PFS and will be carried out by Cardno Emerging Markets USA.
Mkhitaryan said that the new program consists of three components. The first component is Access to Finance, aimed at introducing new financing instruments and making funds more accessible, especially in marzes.
The second component is Institutional Training, aimed at introducing international financial market regulations standards. "These standards are not compulsory, but compliance with them implies high efficiency and quality," Mkhitaryan said, adding that here the FED will cooperate with Armenia's Central Bank and Finance Ministry.
The third component is aimed at introducing mechanisms for managing the assets of the pension funds to be formed as a result of the ongoing pension reforms. "They will help to accumulate pension contributions and to invest them in the economy," Mkhitaryan said.
The three-year PFS program was aimed at developing a stable and efficiency financial system in Armenia and improving the local investment climate. It helped the Armenian Government to establish a national insurance agency, the Central Bank to develop the concept of a research center in Dilijan and the Finance Ministry to improve audit and accounting activities.