The Government of the Republic of Armenia

Chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan, the regular 20th session of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council of the Republic of Armenia took place today. John Gallagher, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Republic of Armenia, George Akhalkatsi, head of the Yerevan Resident Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and a number of representatives of state departments took part in the meeting.

Welcoming the members of the SME Development Council, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the importance of discussing the tasks set by the Council and proposed solutions, as well as summarizing the results of the previous sessions. Before discussing the issues on the agenda, the participants were presented with detailed information on the implementation of the decisions made during the 19th session of the council.

During the session, a number of regulations aimed at improving the business environment were discussed, including the involvement of new employees by companies engaged in processing industry and encouraging their training, as well as increasing the amount of donations made by businesses to educational institutions. Reference was also made to the importance of the formation of the regulatory framework for options contracts and the regulations proposed in this direction. The Deputy Prime Minister gave clear instructions regarding agenda issues, as well as specific issues related to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Thanking the Council for its effective work and substantive discussions, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need for continuous work in the direction of the reforms through a continuous dialogue with the private sector.