YEREVAN, 4 February 2010 – The OSCE Office in Yerevan today presented key findings of an OSCE-supported assessment of Armenia’s business environment that aims to support work to improve Armenia's regulatory policy. The presentation concluded a series of workshops and meetings organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan on best practices in state regulatory systems. The regulatory assessment provides a detailed and systematic analysis of the potential impact of new regulations. It compares results of different regulations and looks at the impact on the general welfare in society as well as the desired objectives. Such assessments are widely used to ensure that regulations are effective. The events were organized in response to a government request for support in carrying out regulatory reforms, including the reform of the judiciary and promote good governance. The reforms aim to increase accountability and transparency, thereby reducing the risk for corruption and promoting a competitive business environment. Representatives of the government, the Ministries of Economy, Finance, Justice and National Assembly, as well as representatives of the business community, think-tanks and international community took part in the training course. “Competitive regulatory policy and the capacity to assess the business environment to find gaps and address them is vital to competitiveness and entrepreneurship. We supported the workshops and the meetings to help improve multi-level co-ordination and strengthen governance and business environment reforms,” the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, said during a meeting with the Prime Minister. “Regulatory reform is essential for economic development and a better investment environment in Armenia. Learning about positive experiences with these reforms in other countries can be very useful for us as we look at regulatory sector assessment issues and ways to improve state regulatory system,” said Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.