Hayk Harutyunyan, the deputy governor of Syunik, today received the executive director of SALAR International, Ryan Knox, and other representatives of the organization.
The organization is a part of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, recently opened an office and started a project in Armenia.
The "Support to Decentralization and Local Self-Government Reforms in Armenia" (DeaLoG) program will be implemented in Syunik as well, and Hayk Harutyunyan welcomed the guests' visit to the marz. They briefly presented the activities of the organization, the directions and main goal of the launched project, which is to support the decentralization processes and the implementation of the functions of the communities in that context.
The deputy governor presented to the guests the results of the enlargement process of communities in Armenia, particularly in Syunik, and the reforms implemented in the direction of decentralization, the state strategy and future plans in that regard, the gradual increase in the scope of powers of the local government.
During the meeting, issues related to the topic of the project, the international experience of decentralization and what opportunities the initiative has to help communities in this regard were discussed.
The project is funded by the Swedish government, and it will try to develop relevant skills and capacities to implement decentralization. SALAR will provide advisory, analytical and capacity building support to key stakeholders at the national and local levels to enhance the autonomy and responsibilities of local governments.