Tuesday, 12 March 2024
We see public administration reforms as a stimulus for the development of a new political and civil culture. Arayik Harutyunyan
Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan participated today in the launching event of the principles of public administration in Armenia.
The event was also attended by the Ambassador of the European Union to Armenia Vassilis Maragos, the head of the SIGMA Programme Gregor Virant, representatives of international organizations in Armenia and various departments.
The Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister made a speech of welcome, in which he specifically noted:
"Your Excellency, Mr. Ambassador,
Dear Colleagues,
I am glad to welcome all of you at the launching event of principles of public administration in Armenia.
Effective state management and transparent and accountable activities of public authorities are a prerequisite for the implementation of reforms in any field. At the same time, public trust in the state, which is the cornerstone of a democratic society, depends on the level of citizens' satisfaction with public services.
This is the reason why the reforms of the sector are among the priorities of the government of the Republic of Armenia. In this regard, the principles published by the SIGMA Programme are the guidelines for us in developing reforms in the sector in Armenia.
Our effective cooperation with the European Union and SIGMA in the direction of public administration reforms has a history of many years. We also committed to implementing reforms in this direction with the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. Based on the baseline assessment report published by SIGMA in 2019, the Government adopted the Public Administration Reform Strategy in 2022, defining its priorities in the areas of policy development, service delivery, human resource management and institutional modernization. Over the past year, we have revised our strategy, aligning it with the revised principles of public management published by SIGMA, with a greater emphasis on the need to develop citizen-centred policies and services.
I would like to emphasize that since the adoption of the strategy, we have already recorded a number of achievements. In particular, the work of introduction of a new system of strategic management of the state, including monitoring and evaluation, which will ensure evidence-based policy development practice, is in the finalization stage. The unified digital platform of public services will be launched in the near future, the "I AM" system of digital identification of a person has already been launched. In parallel, active works are being done to increase the competitiveness of the public service and ensure effective communication with the public. In general, we see public administration reforms not only and not so much as a transformation of the bureaucratic apparatus, but also as a stimulus for the development of a new political and civil culture, which will give a new quality to state-citizen-business relations.
Summarizing, I would like to emphasize once again the importance of effective implementation of public administration reforms in Armenia and express confidence that we will continuously strengthen democratic institutions through joint efforts.
Thank you."
EU Ambassador Vassilis Maragos also gave a speech, after which Gregor Virant, head of SIGMA Programme, presented the details related to the launch of the principles of public administration in Armenia.
