Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan praised the work being carried out in Armenia by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) during a meeting today in Yerevan with a delegation headed by ERBD Coordinating Director for Eastern Europe and Caucasus Francis Malizh.

The Armenia - EBRD cooperation portfolio is comprised of 153 programs, of which 56 in process, with a total investment of € 1 billion contributed by the EBRD.

Francis Malizh emphasized that the Bank is keen to expand cooperation with Armenia and increase   the amount of investment.

Welcoming the Armenian government’s initiative to establish a center for strategic initiatives, as well as the efforts aimed at improving the business climate and providing a competitive field, Malizh noted that the EBRD is ready to work closely with the Center on the joint projects, as well as to be useful to the Government in engineering a favorable competitive field.

Regarding priorities of bilateral cooperation, Mr Malizh reaffirmed the Bank’s readiness to proceed from the government’s priorities in structuring the cooperation with our country in the three main areas outlined in the strategy for Armenia, which was approved in 2015, namely enhancement of private sector competitiveness, development of local capital market and formation of a self-sufficient market for public services

Mr Malizh also welcomed the introduction of the Extracting Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Armenia and the willingness to submit an EITI candidacy application in 2017.