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During a very short period, Armenia has passed a respectable path in terms of democratic achievements in a geopolitically challenging situation. Switzerland actors value the important achievements of Armenia’s democracy, as said by the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Switzerland in the Republic of Armenia, and equally the Regional Deputy Director of the Swiss Cooperation for the South Caucasus Werner Thut.

On May 8, the RA NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs organized a working discussion on public participation in policy design and participatory budgeting in Armenia.

“The ultimate aim of the project is to build trust between citizens and their institutions, which would then also translate into better policies. In our opinion, this proposal is important and timely. The end goal is to support Armenia’s reform agenda and its democracy. Since 2018, Switzerland continuously supports this agenda,” Werner Thut noted.

The project aims to encourage the citizens’ participation in the spheres of public policy building through innovative tools. Participatory budgeting will be particularly stressed as a means to engage the citizens at all phases of public policy design and make their participation meaningful. Given the ambitious agenda of the project, 10 years is planned.

Werner Thut thanked the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs Gevorg Papoyan for showing a personal interest in the process, as well as for his leadership. Apart the Standing Committee, the importance of the NA Budget Office and the Audit Chamber were also mentioned for a successful implementing the project. Moreover, the project will involve the RA Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Human Rights Defender for cooperation.

In the long-run, the project shall promote a culture of dialogue, on the basis of which is the mutual respect towards the political differing opinions and approaches. In this respect, Werner Thut notably valued also the presence of representatives from opposition parties and emphasized the importance of their engagement in the future project.

With an online intervention Dr. Claudia Baez-Camargo of the Basel Institute on Governance, a Swiss Research Institute, presented the concept of the project.

Chairman Gevorg Papoyan expressed his gratitude towards the Swiss Development Cooperation and its commitment expressed by Mr. Thut. “Democracy for us is a high value, and we try to institutionalize the achievements: It is time to move from a democracy that is based on the commitment of individuals to a model that is based on institutions,” mentioned the Committee Chair.

In the discussion, in which representatives from the executive body and parliamentary institutions took part, reference was made, among others, to the boosting of participatory budgeting, the works to be done in the communities and in the society, and the development of skills.

Werner Thut thanked the representatives of the state institutions for the fruitful discussion, readiness to cooperate, and their valuable advice.