On 9 March 2017, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Board approved Armenia’s EITI candidature application at the EITI board meeting held in Bogota, Colombia.

According to the statement from Armenian Government, the country is now an EITI candidate.

Thereby, Armenia became the 52nd country that implements the EITI Standard.

“Implementing EITI will lead to transparency in the mining sector and increase accountability to citizens. These factors are essential for improvement of the business environment in the country. A well-managed natural resource extraction can become more profitable for the citizens of Armenia, and the EITI is the right tool to achieve this goal. By dint of EITI a huge amount of relevant data and useful information will be available to the all beneficiaries. And the most valuable aspect of the EITI process is the fact that the multi-stakeholder critical engagement will lead to increased trust and cooperation between all involved parties,” said Armenian Minister-Chief of Government Staff and MGS Chair Davit Harutyunyan.

The EITI in Armenia creates a platform for the government, companies and civil society to hold a dialogue on financial accountability in the extractive industries. The delegation of the Republic of Armenia participated at the EITI Board meeting in Colombia.

Earlier Banks.am talked with leading expert at Adam Smith International consulting company Jeremy Weate about the decision of Armenia joining the EITI.