ArmInfo.The Ministry of Economy of Armenia, together with representatives of the country's business community, is actively discussing the issue of creating an institution of a business ombudsman in the country.
According to representatives of the business sector, at present there are no mechanisms to protect the interests of entrepreneurs in the republic, to whom the beneficiaries would have unconditional trust, while using this mechanism it would be possible to achieve the earliest possible restoration of violated rights, especially with regard to representatives of small and medium-sized businesses.
As the Ministry of Economy told ArmInfo, the protection of the interests of entrepreneurs is mainly carried out in the state sector and through non-governmental organizations that protect the interests of entrepreneurs. But the possibilities of both those and others are not regulated and are strictly limited.
At a joint meeting with business community, held the other day in the economic department, it was emphasized that in a number of countries there are bodies to protect the interests of businessmen, designed to ensure proper communication between businessmen and government agencies. Thus, the creation of the institution of the business ombudsman will create additional effective guarantees for protecting the interests of business community, will stimulate the attraction of investments, ensure efficient and timely processing of business applications, will contribute to the restoration of violated or disputed business rights, thereby improving the business environment and reducing corruption risks. The institution will also create a basis for a more effective dialogue, for example, preconditions for the adoption of legal acts proposed by entrepreneurs to improve the business environment, making amendments and additions to them.
In this regard, the Ministry of Economy is ready to organize additional discussions in the framework of a dialogue between the private and public sectors and come up with concrete proposals to the government and, possibly, to the legislature.