Friday, 21 August 2009
The Sustained Development Program Coordination Council held its first session at the Office of Government, presided at by council chair, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.
In accordance with the Prime Minister’s decision, the meeting approved the statutes and the composition of the Council featuring 10 representatives from the executive and the legislature, as well as 11 representatives from civil society, with the latter being represented in all program management units, subject to the principle of prevailing participation. Any proceeding of the Council will be attended by representatives from core international donors involved in Armenia.
The first question of the agenda concerned the short-term program for the period 2010-2011. The meeting proposed that the Government’s anti-crisis action plan and the priority areas under the program of sustained development and the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan should be taken as a basis for the design of a short-term program for 2010-2011. It is supposed to provide a framework for social-economic planning of line programs and the development of State budget laws. As an addendum to the sustained development program, it will summarize the anti-crisis policies to lay the groundwork for medium-term expenditures and the State budget.
The Short-Term Program is seen as a chiefly strategic paper. The Program will be developed and implemented under the Sustained development program management system which implies broad participation and strict reporting. Civil society and donor organizations are expected to back this process as much as possible.
The session also discussed and endorsed the terms of reference and the composition of the working group on coordination of recurrent activities under the program. The working group will have the main task of ensuring effective coordination and monitoring of program activities. The working group will comprise 9 representatives from the executive and some 10 representatives from civil society and will be chaired by the deputy minister of economy.
The meeting also discussed the possibility of including representatives from the civil interaction network of interdepartmental bodies.
The Council took note of the proposed scheme for enhancing efficiency and adhering to a unified policy while monitoring and assessing the Program of Sustained Development and the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan. In conclusion, the session heard the Sustained Human Development Association NGO’s report on the causes and the ways out of the global financial and economic crisis, which has already been presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations.
