Thursday, 6 June 2024
The progress of open government reforms is important for our region. Arayik Harutyunyan
Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister, Head of "Open Government Partnership-Armenia" Arayik Harutyunyan participated in the "Open Government Eastern Partnership Community Dialogue" event.
The event was also attended by representatives of the state administration system and civil society of Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as international structures.
The Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, the Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, Mission Director of USAID/Armenia John Allelo, the Director of Governance and Fragile States of Counterpart International, Katherine Krueger, Regional Coordinator of OGP for the Eastern Partnership countries, Peter Varga, made speeches of welcome.
The purpose of the event is to discuss the effective mechanisms and challenges of implementing anti-corruption, public finance management, participation and innovation, which are the cornerstones of open and good governance.
In his welcome speech, Arayik Harutyunyan said,
"Dear Mr. Varga,
Excellencies,
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to welcome you to Armenia at the Open Government Eastern Partnership Community Dialogue event, which brought together representatives of the state administration systems of Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, civil societies and international organizations to affirm our common commitment to promote the principles of good governance in the field of public administration. Our joint efforts have already recorded the positive impact of the reforms in our countries. Advancing open government reform is critical for our entire region. Promoting transparency, ensuring access to information, effective management of public resources and reducing corruption are the foundations for establishing democracy and peaceful coexistence.
However, we must state that today democracy is facing significant challenges. Security issues, both internal and external, are serious threats to our democratic institutions and processes. Conflicts, cyber threats and disinformation campaigns undermine trust in governance and destabilize our societies. Addressing these challenges requires a strong and unified response to protect democratic values and ensure our national security and well-being.
Addressing these challenges requires rethinking governance approaches, solutions, and making decision-making even more citizen-centric based on public need.
During the process of implementing reforms in Armenia, our international partners have always been by the side of the Armenian government, who have shared their valuable experience, ideas and investments.
The open governance community provides opportunities to learn from each other, share best practices, and tackle challenges more safely and seamlessly. It should be noted that the support of civil society and international organizations is indispensable in ensuring the progress of our initiatives.
Promoting transparency, accountability and public participation will strengthen the foundations of our future where our governments are more accountable and our societies more resilient.
Thank you for your dedication and commitment to the principles of open and good governance. Let's continue to work together and make every possible effort towards our mission to create more open, accountable and sustainable societies. I wish you good days in Yerevan."
The head of the EU delegation in the Republic of Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos highly appreciated the commitment of the governments of the participating states to the governance reforms and in this context welcomed the steps taken by the Armenian authorities in this direction. "In fact, one of the pillars of this resilience and development plan is the strengthening of democratic and accountable governance in Armenia. Therefore, I would first of all like to welcome the commitment of the government, and once again emphasize the joint commitment to these values that unite us. Everyone knows that open governance is full of challenges. Yesterday evening we had a very interesting event here in Armenia, in the context of Europe Day, where we discussed the history of European integration. At the end, a question was asked: isn't it better to have one leader, a strong man, who makes decision regarding everything, or is it better to have this diversity, which is sometimes viewed as a weakness from outside. But our answer is, I think you will all agree that it is much more important and effective to deal with the people, to be sure that democratic elections bring forward the leadership, that it is the people who decide, not others," said Ambassador Vassilis Maragos.
Referring to the importance of the event, the EU Ambassador noted. "This is a really significant milestone, a very important event, and I want to emphasize once again the commitment of the EU, but also welcome the commitment of the Armenian government to democratic governance, open governance. This is difficult, but I think there is no other way. This is what unites us and we find common space. The EU supports Armenia's stability, Armenia's sovereignty, Armenia's democracy."
The EU Ambassador also emphasized the dialogue between civil society, expert circles and the government, emphasized the efforts of governments towards local governance and decentralization. In this context, Vassilis Maragos emphasized that the EU supports Armenia's efforts aimed at the resilience of Syunik. "Syunik is one of the regions that suffered from the conflict and continues to suffer," the EU Ambassador said, adding that all resources have been combined to strengthen the EU and other donors' investments.
