President Serzh Sargsyan receives EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the delegation headed by Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The president greatly appreciated the activities carried out by the EBRD in Armenia and its many years of cooperation as a strategic partner of our country. According to the president, that cooperation includes from financing public economic infrastructure development programs to more than 100 programs, e.g. SME support programs and programs aimed at the development of financial markets, public procurement practices and of other spheres. Serzh Sargsyan expressed the hope that Suma Chakrabarti’s regular visit to Armenia will be as effective as previously and will give a new impulse to the collaboration.

The Armenian president attached importance to the bank’s involvement in primary and long-term economic programs implemented in Armenia and welcomed the EBRD readiness to enlarge the scope of its activities as part of the four-year cooperation strategy.

Suma Chakrabarti expressed satisfaction with the fact that the EBRD has been reinforcing its partnership with Armenia year after year, as a result of which, as stated by him, in 2014 Armenia has seen unprecedented growth of programs financed by the bank.

At the meeting, the interlocutors touched upon the current state of affairs in Armenia’s economy, the ongoing economic reforms, including the work carried out so far to improve the business and investment climate, and the upcoming programs. The EBRD president expressed his readiness to use the bank’s entire arsenal of tools to support the Armenian government in its efforts to improve the business environment.

The RA president and the EBRD president discussed the possible dimensions of broadening cooperation between Armenia and EBRD, touched upon the promotion of cooperation between Armenia and the European Union and upon the new development opportunities and prospects opened up through Armenia’s membership in the EAEU.