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On 26 March, SALAR International participated in a high-level discussion with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, presenting its findings and recommendations on fiscal decentralisation in Armenia, based on a comprehensive study carried out earlier within “Support to Decentralisation and Local Self-Government Reforms in Armenia” (DeaLoG) project.
The meeting focused on improving the efficiency of community service delivery, with fiscal decentralisation addressed as a key component of the agenda.
The discussion brought together Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan; Minister of Finance of Armenia, Vahe Hovhannisyan; Chairman of the Board of the Union of Communities of Armenia and Mayor of Yerevan, Tigran Avinyan; members of the Board; Ryan Knox, Managing Director of SALAR International; Varsenik Mnatsakanyan, team leader of the DeaLoG project in Armenia and Elton Staffa, DeaLoG project expert.
The presentation of the fiscal decentralisation study done by the DeaLoG project first covered existing challenges, available tools, and opportunities for local development. It then outlined the proposed reform process, including gradual fiscal decentralisation and improvements in public financial management at the local level.
Ideas were further exchanged on the use of local taxes and sectoral financing tools, as well as on measures to improve the efficient delivery of community services through fiscal decentralisation.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan emphasised that strong communities play a key role in the country’s overall development, noting that territorial-administrative changes have already helped create stronger communities, while the proposed changes will provide the necessary tools for delivering high-quality services. In this regard, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the presented proposals and the next steps towards their implementation.