Monday, October 24 2016 17:10

ArmInfo. EU-GIZ Support for the  Small and Medium Enterprises Development in Armenia (SMEDA) project  will be officially launched in Armenia this week. The project is  estimated at 7 mln EUR and its partner is the German Society for  International Cooperation (GIZ), Garegin Melkonyan, Armenia's Deputy  Minister of Economic Development and Investments, said at a press  conference on October 24. He noted that various events will be held  to develop small and medium businesses within the next few years.

The Deputy Minister said that the agenda of cooperation with the EU  is quite large. A support programme worth 45 mln EUR is underway in a  variety of fields: as much as 29 mln EUR will be spent on justice, 25  mln EUR - on development of rural communities, 12 mln EUR - on human  rights. In addition, negotiations are being held with the EU to  launch a 15 mln EUR programme aimed at upgrading qualifications and  creating new jobs, as well as a 10 mln EUR programme aimed at  improving the state funds management policy, and a 5 mln EUR  programme that looks to conduct civil society reforms. "An active  phase of discussions is also underway to adjust the strategic  directions of cooperation with the EU for 2017-2020," Melkonyan said. 

Melkonyan noted that COSME, Horizon 2020 and other programmes imply  consulting, improving opportunities, holding B2B events, enhancing  access to finance and increasing financial support.  He noted that  the body approving the policy in SME field - the SME Development  National Council - is cooperating with the European Business  Association. This will contribute to involvement of European business  structures in elaboration of the policy in this field.  

Horizon 2020 is a major EU-funded initiative that couples research  and innovation. Joining Horizon 2020 in 2016, Armenia has now full  access to the EU's biggest research and innovation programme with  nearly ?80 billion of funding, under the same conditions as their  counterparts from the EU Member States and other countries. The  programme's main national contact point for Armenia is National  Academy of Sciences of Armenia; the programme also serves as a  comprehensive platform for Armenia's public and private sectors to  work together in finding and delivering innovative solutions. COSME  is the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs,  running from 2014 to 2020, with a budget of ?2.3 billion. Armenia  joined COSME as of January 2016. COSME will support Armenian SMEs in  the following areas: Supporting internationalisation and access to  markets; Creating an environment favourable to competitiveness;  Encouraging an entrepreneurial culture.