ArmInfo.The Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan on the eve received the leading experts of the World Bank, headed by the member of the Doing Business group Alejandro Espinosa - Van.
According to the press service of the department, the group is in Armenia to discuss methodological issues related to the Doing Business rating, as well as to support the Bank in further reforms in the business environment. Tigran Khachatryan expressed satisfaction with the launch of the next phase of the report, during which the leading experts of the World Bank Group are currently negotiating with the main stakeholders of the public sector through direct and communication contacts. The Minister expressed his gratitude for the prepared advisory report, which is a useful guide for considering current resources and solving existing problems, as well as for organizing further work.
The Minister noted that the annual assessment of the Bank is important not only in terms of comparison with other countries, but also to get a real idea of current problems. The Minister said that the reform agenda will be drawn up through the development of medium and long-term actions. Alejandro Espinosa-Van thanked the Minister for the meeting and effective discussions, pointing out the issues on the agenda of the second round.
Recall that Armenia ranks 47th among 190 countries in the Doing Business 2020 ranking, which is published annually by the World Bank. According to the report, Armenia worsened its position by six points - in the previous Doing Business 2019 report, it ranked 41st place. The annual Doing Business study evaluates the comfort of doing business on the basis of ten indicators: ease of registering enterprises, obtaining building permits, connecting to power grids, obtaining loans, protecting the rights of minority investors, paying taxes, international trade, contract enforcement, insolvency decision (bankruptcy).
It should be noted that on March 29 last year, the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank (WB) Group approved the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) program with Armenia for 2019-2023. in the amount of about $ 500 million to promote stable and inclusive growth, as well as improving living standards in the country. The new CPF program is fully in tune with the five-year government program. It is based on a vision formed by the government after the "velvet" revolution in April 2018 and reflects a new political will to overcome development restrictions and deepen reforms through investments in the fight against corruption, strengthening the rule of law and human capital. Armenia, which since 1992 has been a member of the World Bank and since 1993 the International Development Association (IDA), as of December 2018, funds were allocated in the amount of $ 2.3 billion.
