1 / 3

The current conclusion of the Audit Chamber on Audit of the Budgetary Expenditures conditioned by new Coronavirus Pandemic (Covid 19) in the RA Ministry of Health will be debated at the joint sitting of the NA Standing Committees on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs and on Health Care on June 10.

The decision was made at the extraordinary sitting of the Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs convened on May 25. The Committee Chair Gevorg Papoyan noted that the issue is of great interest.

The Committee also debated the report of the Budget Office on the work done in the first quarter of 2022. The Coordinator-Expert of the Budget Office Gagik Barseghyan informed that during the reporting period the Budget Office received 37 surveys, 15 of which are from the deputies, 5 – from the factions and 17- from the Standing Committees.

On the basis of the received surveys a certificate with 117 kinds of comparative analyses were provided to the deputies. They particularly relate to the tax revenues, expenditures of the RA state budgets, the RA state debt and the social-economic main indicators. As an information on the RA state budget expenditures, the means received from abroad on behalf of the physical persons through the RA banks, the transfers carried out to abroad from the RA by the physical persons, analytical certificates with infographic pictures were prepared and provided to beneficiaries.

According to Gagik Barseghyan, the Staff of the Budget Office is involved with the strategy implementation of the reforms of the state financing management system for 2019-2023 and in the monitoring process.

Within the framework of cooperation with the Budget Offices of other countries in support of the International Republican Institute (IRI) the Budget Office began to cooperate with the Budget Office of the U.S. Congress, on March 15 and 30 virtual discussions were held between the NA and U.S. Congress Budgetary Offices. The framework of the activities of the two Offices was presented. The Armenian counterparts got acquainted in detail with the services rendered by the U.S. Congress Budget Office.

The rapporteur informed that virtual discussions on cooperating perspectives had been also with the officers of the independent financial institute network of the Economic Cooperation and Development Organization. There is an agreement to organize virtual discussion with the parliamentary Budget Office of Ireland.

The Committee Chair Gevorg Papoyan highly appreciated the work of the Budget Office. He proposed to activate and essentially increase the volume of the work, adding substantiated the positions of the experts with specialization. Gevorg Papoyan also highlighted the study of the international experience. Touching upon the last visit to Austria he noted that the experience of the given country and the interesting ideas can be also applied in Armenia. The Committee Chair proposed the attendees to make inventory of the existing problems, the scope of the issues and coming to certain conclusion get prepared to the autumn session.