President Serzh Sargsyan conducted a meeting at the Ministry of Finance

President Serzh Sargsyan visited today the Ministry of Finance. He familiarized with the works conducted at this state body and the process of realization of the tasks set before the Ministry. The President of Armenia toured the departments of the Ministry, observed the working conditions, and conversed with the employees about their ongoing works and forthcoming programs. Later, the President held a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry. During the meeting, the Minister of Finance David Sarkissian, Deputy Ministers, Head of Staff and the Head of the Financial Oversight Inspectorate reported on the activities conducted in their respective areas this year and spoke about the programs to be implemented in coming years.

Minister David Sarkissian presented main activities of the Ministry of Finance. He singled out a number of areas which this year have undergone considerable reformation. In particular, the Minister spoke about improvement made in the system of state procurement, national debt servicing and issuance of Eurobonds, expansion of the electronic system of the Treasury accounts, strategy of reviewing the tax and customs related legislation, program budgeting and works carried out in the framework of the Ministry’s other functions.

First Deputy Minister Pavel Safarian presented the budget policy, particularly, steps directed at the introduction of program budgeting. He reported about a number of legislative amendments which instated a legal base for program budgeting, administration of wages in the state system, and management of the off-budgetary accounts.

The Deputy Minister-Chief Treasurer Atom Janjughazian reported about the expansion of the electronic system of the administration of treasury accounts and related works aimed at the reduction of the number of the local treasury divisions. He also spoke about transparency of the state budget reports, particularly, about interactive daily presentation of the budget expenses and national debt servicing.
Deputy Minister Suren Karayan presented already implemented and future steps in the tax and customs area, as well as the steps carried out in the framework of macroeconomic policy and recent reforms in the area of private and public sectors accounting. He also spoke about works conducted by the Ministry of Finance in the framework of Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union.

Deputy Minister Liana Hunanian spoke about reforms carried out in recent months in the area of state procurement, particularly, about the results of monitoring, new instruments used in the process of procurement which ensure transparency. The Deputy Minister summarized the works of the internal audit system which was introduced to the state sector in 2013 and the results of a more strict control of the license related activities in the area of external audit.

The Head of Staff Ashot Tamazian presented the structure of the Ministry and its personnel related policies, noting the structural changes introduced into the staff system and aimed at a more rational use of existing potential. The Head of Staff presented also programs directed at the professional development and existing problems.

The Head of the Financial Oversight Inspectorate Sona Gharibian reported on the main directions and results of financial oversight for this year, emphasizing, in particular, risk-related inspections which this year have been conducted on a larger scale. According to the Head of the Inspectorate, as a result the efficiency of the Ministry’s oversight related to the budget performance has increased and compared to 2012, the amount of reinstated budget means has doubled.

The President addressed questions related to the reports to their presenters, spoke about existing problems and gave directions aimed to their resolution to the responsible officials. Serzh Sargsyan spoke also about reforms carried out in the Ministry of Finance, primarily, about the process of introduction of the program budgeting. The President gave positive assessment to works conducted on that direction and underscored that it is necessary to fix precise deadlines for a successful completion of each stage, which means overall increase of the work tempo.

The President of Armenia underlined that through the years, the budget related processes have definitely improved: institutes for budget estimates, its fulfillment and accounting in our country have developed significantly and if once the budget process was constantly a centerpiece of public concerns, nowadays, according to the President, budget is not a topic of public discussions anymore which testifies to the maturity of the system.

Serzh Sargsyan spoke also about the efficient fulfillment of the budget, the imperative of the efficient administration of the revenues.

“Another issue I would like to highlight is the necessity to clearly and timely respond to all budget-related discussions, analyses, even rumors,” the President said and added that along with a comprehensive and meticulous report on each year budget at the National Assembly, regular briefings for public conducted in different formats, the Ministry of Finance must be able to give clear-cut and timely answers to all publicly stated questions, even when they are obviously baseless. “Disinformation must be pointed at, and questions which require clarification must receive plausible explanations,” the President of Armenia underscored.

At the meeting, the President also responded to the questions raised by the representatives of the staff of the Ministry of Finance, which were related to the problems of the Ministry as well as to the internal and external policies of the Republic.

Responding to the question of an employee on the results for our country of the recently concluded Summit in Vilnius, which was also attended by the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan said, “Normal. Frankly, I, probably unlike many-many others, don’t believe that Vilnius was an end mark which had to be achieved with the subsequent demonstration of the results, like “Here it is.” It is no accident that in Vilnius people were joking like “there is still life after Vilnius.” Of course, life will go on. Vilnius was a milestone – for us, for the European Union, and for Eastern Partnership. The Statement adopted by the EU and Republic of Armenia is the assessment of the journey made before reaching that milestone, our today’s vision for tomorrow. Certainly, it is also a document on the program which we will implement on our road towards continued reforms.

Our decisions, no exemptions, were accepted with understanding almost by every one. During individual meetings and during discussions we have always been able to present our position and that position is accepted by the people who are able to weight the situation. I am talking not about us. I am talking about people who are expressing views on our decisions.

I assess it as very normal. The Statement, I believe you also know it, and every one knows, is a normal one, a milestone decision, and we will continue reforms in this country. The main objective of Eastern Partnership, its pivot is implementation reforms in a given country. Everything which was told today in this hall is yet another proof that reforms in our country are going on – faster and more efficiently in some areas, somewhat sluggish and not so efficiently in the others, however the process as a whole, I believe, is going on normally. We must enhance this process and yesterday’s Statement is precisely about that.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, a group of Ministry employees received commendations for their diligent and efficient work - Lusine Ayvazian, Head of the budget recording division of the Department of Operations, Zhora Asatrian, Head of the Department of Financial Programming of Current Budget Expenditures in the Sphere of Social Economy, Arman Poghosian, Head of the Department of State Revenue Policy and Administrative Methodology received Presidential Letters of Commendations.