ArmInfo.RA Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments Avag Avanesyan participated in the 19th meeting of the EU's Eastern Partnership Multilateral Cooperation Platform Economic Development and Market Opportunities 'in Brussels. The meeting was devoted to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership program, as well as the implementation of the work program for 2018-2020, in particular, problems and achievements.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, during the meeting, participants discussed issues of deepening trade and interregional cooperation between countries, structural reforms, reforming the business environment, and SME development trends. Special attention was paid to the financial resources of SMEs, the securities market, and measures to increase the availability of local currency.Avag Avanesyan noted that the format of multilateral cooperation today is more important than ever. At the same time, he stressed that both the needs of the partner countries of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTA) agreement of non-members of the DCFTA should be taken into account without a differentiated approach.According to the source, as a result of discussions, it was agreed that non-partner countries of the DCFTA would submit their proposals regarding the expansion of EU assistance mechanisms. In this vein, the Deputy Minister stressed that there is a need to enhance the involvement of EU member states.
Recall that the Eastern Partnership is a program of the European Union, launched in Paris in 2009. The idea of the project was presented by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. The EAP sets itself the main task - the development of EU relations with the six countries of the former Soviet Union - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Armenia in 2017 at the summit in Brussels signed a comprehensive and extended partnership agreement (CEPA) with the EU.