On June 29, 2018 the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Delegation of the European Union in Armenia co-hosted a panel discussion entitled “The anti-corruption policies and measures – what is at stake? Georgian experience – lessons learned for Armenia” at the Best Western Congress Hotel in Yerevan. The panel discussion was held under the auspices of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and was moderated by Ambassador David Shahnazaryan.
Fighting corruption has been highlighted as one of the main priorities in the program of the new Armenian government and a matter of key importance for building a democratic and prosperous society in Armenia. Ensuring effectiveness in combating corruption has also been emphasized as one of the important fields of cooperation in the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the EU and Armenia. Given the critical importance of the issue, the main idea of the event was to provide a platform for a free and broad exchange of views on how to address corruption in a systemic and efficient way by involving representatives of the government, academia and civil society.
The discussion was opened with the introductory remarks made by H.E. Maria Pavlova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Ekaterina Dorodnova, Chargée d’Affaires a.i. Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Armenia and Mr. Aren Mkrtchyan, Assistant to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.
Diverse panel of experts both from Armenia and Georgia shared their opinions and thoughts on the complex nature of the corruption and corruption practices in Armenia, the underlying causes and possible ways and means to address this phenomenon as part of the governmental policies and measures in Armenia. The issue was tackled from different perspectives, encompassing all important dimensions – economic, social, political and the role of media and information in public domain. The participating Georgian experts discussed the policies and mechanisms established in Georgia and what lessons could be drawn from the Georgian experience for Armenia. The main presentations were followed by an interactive and thought-provoking discussion with the participating representatives of academia and civil society organizations.
The event attracted a great deal of interest of diplomatic corps, institutions and various stakeholders due to the topical nature of the theme in the current political context of Armenia.
Embassy of Bulgaria in Yerevan