Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on November 7 received members of the monitoring committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), PACE corapporteurs Alan Meale and Giuseppe Galati, press service of the government told Armenpress.
‘Our relations with CoE will continue deepening’ – Armenian PM receives PACE co-rapporteurs
STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 7, ARTSAKHPRESS:The PM attached importance to the regular visits of corapporteurs to Armenia which enable to discuss the ongoing reforms in the country and the process of implementation of duties. “Since its membership to the Council of Europe Armenia has been actively involved in the works of the structure and its different bodies. We highly appreciate our cooperation and thank the CoE for the expert assistance, as well as in the development of the packages of legislative reforms. I think Armenia has passed a great path on implementing these commitments the evidence of which are themonitoring results conducted by the PACE and CoE ministerial committee”, Karen Karapetyan said.
The PACE co-rapporteurs agreed that Armenia has passed quite a long path in a short period of time, stating that after the pannational elections the country has entered the next stage of changes and developments.
During the meeting issues relating to the processes conditioned by constitutional reforms, electoral reforms and fight against corruption were discussed. PM Karapetyan presented the works carried out so far on this path, as well as the ongoing activities which aim at effectively and smoothly organizing the abovementioned processes. The PM noted that the anti-corruption fight is in the constant spotlight of the Armenian government, and in addition to the concrete steps to reduce the corruption risks, certain achievements were recorded also in the legislative field. The PM informed that at the moment the Armenian judicial and legal reforms 2018-2023 strategy and the action plan are being prepared.
The PM also touched upon the economic cooperation opportunities with different integration unions and countries, talked about the ongoing works aimed at improving the business environment, boosting investment activeness and attracting investments. “Our main goal is to provide each investor, both local and foreign, with all the necessary conditions for their activity. We pay special attention to the business environment, we record that we have positive results over the past year, but we also know the weak points and try to eliminate them”, the PM stated.
The PACE co-rapporteurs welcomed the Armenian Government’s ongoing reforms in different spheres. “We want to thank for two things: firstly, for a dignified and serious approach your country shows towards Syrian refugees, in particular, in terms of the flow of Diaspora-Armenians. We are grateful for that: this is an example for other peoples to follow. On behalf of the Council of Europe we want to thank you for the work the Armenian diplomats and representatives carry out in Europe, as well as your delegation to the PACE. We can assure that we will continue assisting you to keep this pace on the way of building your dreamed Armenia”, Alan Meale said.
The PM thanked for the appreciation and readiness to assist and stated: “Our relations with the Council of Europe will continue deepening in accordance with the commitments and political obligations assumed by us. Their unconditional implementation will contribute to expanding democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms as stable components for our security and sustainable development”.
