On December 16, within the framework of the visit to Brussels, the Minister of Economic Development and Investments of RA Suren Karayan had meeting with the Director-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission Christian Danielsson.

Suren Karayan reaffirmed the willingness of the Armenian side to develop and deepen cooperation between Armenia and the European Union in all possible fields.

Minister Suren Karayan expressed gratitude to EU partners for the support programs of the European Union to Armenia and stressed the importance of its role in the process of reforms carried out in Armenia.

The Minister of Economic Development and Investments of RA stressed the importance of negotiation process with the European Union and added that they will allow to quickly develop the Common support framework between Armenia and EU for 2018-2020.

Director-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission Christian Danielsson expressed satisfaction over the results of meetings and negotiations taken place the day before. Cooperation priorities, further financial support directions and other agenda issues have been discussed.

At the end of the meeting Suren Karayan and Christian Danielsson signed EU budget support agreements on “Better Qualifications for Better Jobs” and “Public Finance Policy.”

The new programme "Better Qualifications for Better Jobs", with a budget of €15.2 million, seeks to improve the efficiency of Armenia's labour market and the employability of its workforce, with a particular emphasis on agricultural employment. Through the development of a national system of professional orientation, the reinforcement of career guidance centres and the improvement of lifelong learning opportunities, the initiative supports the development qualifications and employability of jobseekers. It also aims to improve the mechanisms to identify and match labour supply with private and public sector demand through more effective data collection and usage.

In parallel, the newly signed programme to support the reform of “Public Finance Policy” (€10 million) in Armenia, addresses the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of public spending in line with international standards and practices. The programme will strengthen the accountability and transparency of the budget and its spending through better accounting as well as auditing practices; working with civil society and the National Assembly to ensure a more participatory budgeting process.