The Executive Director of the Communities Association of Armenia, Armen Harutyunyan, also addressed the workshop, presenting the Association’s position and observations regarding institutional reforms in the field of inter-community cooperation.

In his speech, Armen Harutyunyan emphasized the importance of improving the legal and institutional foundations of inter-community cooperation in Armenia, noting that the development of the draft RA Law “On Inter-Community Cooperation” is an important step toward strengthening the local self-government system and deepening decentralization reforms.

He stressed that international best practices demonstrate that associations and unions of municipalities are the primary carriers of the inter-community cooperation institution, and in this context, the Communities Association of Armenia is also ready to actively participate in the process of institutional reforms in the sector.

Armen Harutyunyan noted that the administrative-territorial reforms implemented in Armenia over the past decade, as well as the process of municipal consolidation, have created important preconditions for the development of inter-community cooperation. According to him, under the new conditions, municipalities now manage broader resources and powers, making the introduction of effective cooperation mechanisms even more relevant.

The Executive Director of the Communities Association of Armenia also emphasized the importance of ensuring that the developing legislation remains flexible and encourages the initiative of municipalities while avoiding excessively complicated administrative approaches. In his view, the law should facilitate the establishment and development of cooperation between municipalities by creating sustainable and practical institutional solutions.

Armen Harutyunyan stated that the Communities Association of Armenia is interested in participating both in the implementation of inter-community cooperation mechanisms and in the future realization of pilot programs in various municipalities across Armenia.

He also stressed the importance of granting the Communities Association of Armenia the legal opportunity to initiate inter-community cooperation processes through legislation, noting that this would contribute to establishing more effective cooperation among municipalities.

Concluding his remarks, Armen Harutyunyan once again highlighted the importance of the workshop and wished the participants productive and constructive discussions.

The workshop was organized within the framework of the “Integrated Municipal Development in Armenia” program, implemented by German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in cooperation with the RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.