A new anti-corruption program will be developed in Armenia

ArmInfo. Under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan, on August 26, the government hosted a meeting of the Council on Combating Corruption with the participation of representatives of civil society.

As the press service of the Armenian government reports, during the meeting the representatives of the independent expert group presented programs of actions aimed at reducing the identified corruption risks in the RA Police, in the spheres of healthcare, education, and the collection of state revenues. Around the presented proposals there was an active discussion.

The head of government noted the importance of implementing consistent steps to reduce corruption risks in these areas, gave appropriate instructions. In particular, the head of the MoES, Ministry of Health, SRC and the Police instructed to discuss the submitted proposals by September 20, if necessary, to complete the projects together with experts and submit them to the government

apparatus.

In addition, in order to implement the activities outlined by the program, the prime minister instructed to pre-allocate funds within the budget-planned financial resources, and, if necessary, to discuss when discussing the budget. The head of the government apparatus was also instructed in November this year.  bring the document to the final view in cooperation with the concerned areas.

To recall, in 2015, on the initiative of the then Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, the Council for Combating Corruption was set up, which was headed by the Prime Minister himself. In the opinion of observers, the Council, like the previously created similar structures, did not act in accordance with the declared goal, but was more ostentatious in nature. As evidence of this, the Council's inadequate response to press reports on the facts of corruption, as well as the fact that the commission included persons who themselves had to be checked for involvement in corruption, including the former head of the Armenian government.

The day before, the US Ambassador Richard Mills, who had repeatedly stated earlier that corruption is a serious problem for Armenia, which hinders not only the overall development of the country, but also creates threats to national security, noted at the meeting with Karen Karapetyan that he welcomes the efforts of the government to fight with corruption and improving the business environment. "I warmly welcome your efforts aimed at combating corruption and improving the business environment that have led to the growth of interest of American companies and investors to Armenia." We continue to consider ways that we can help your efforts and deepen bilateral trade and investment, "he said. he. According to Richard Mills, recently he received a lot of positive signals from US companies operating in Armenia regarding the activities of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia. At the same time, the American diplomat noted the US readiness to continue supporting the initiatives of the Armenian government to further improve the business environment.