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Europe and Central Asia Dept, |
Map courtesy of the FCO |
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Armenia
Background
Armenia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Although it has suffered severe economic and social dislocation following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia has made considerable progress during the last several years.
- Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has been in the double digits during 2002-2006, exceeding 13% in 2006.
- The 12 month inflation as of end-2006 was 5.2% showing some acceleration compared to previous periods.
- Poverty has fallen from around 50% in 2000 to about 30% in 2005.
Yet, the strong economic growth in recent years has not translated into substantively improved living conditions or enhanced employment prospects for the majority of the population. There are major issues concerning poor governance, endemic corruption and lack of civil society access to the process of policy development.
By expert opinions, Armenia is unlikely to meet at least three of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
- child mortality,
- school enrolment, and
- HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) incidence.
For more information about the political and economic situation in Armenia
please see the
Foreign
and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Armenia site.
DFID in Armenia
DFID started its activities in Armenia in April 1996. Since then, diverse projects have been implemented in different Ministries at the request of the Armenian Government. DFID has maintained a bilateral programme in Armenia and has provided on average £1.8 million of technical assistance annually. For the period 2004-2006 DFID provided £2.5 million annually on public sector reform, reform of the budgetary process and regional development. DFID allocation for Armenia in the fiscal year 2007/08 will be over £3 million.
The current key activities are:
- The Armenia Regional Development Programme (ARDEP) is a project, which seeks to strengthen the capacity of two pilot Regional Administrations to develop and implement pro-poor programmes and to influence national strategy;
- Support to the Roll-out of Programme Budgeting in Armenia (PBP) is a project aiming to support the Government of Armenia to develop and implement a programme budgeting reform strategy for the whole of the Government.
More information on DFID programmes in Armenia
Other Donors
DFID works effectively with other key donors and governments to establish
improved coordination mechanisms in Armenia. DFID will continue to contribute to multilateral organizations
such as The World Bank, European Union, and the United Nations (UN) agencies, e.g. United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which have programmes in Armenia. The UK,
through DFID, contributes a significant amount of the EU's aid resources
overall, approximately 18%. Both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund
(IMF) are important partners. The Structural Adjustment Credit for Armenia has a
strong focus on private sector development and social safety nets.
World Bank support has also covered:
- institution building,
- public sector reform,
- irrigation rehabilitation,
- power maintenance,
- social investment support,
- infrastructure,
- agriculture, and
- enterprise development.
The European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) Country Strategy highlights energy, banking and
telecommunications as priority sectors. Armenia also receives substantial
amounts of assistance from the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Initiative (MCI)
The European Commission has developed its new
European neighbourhood and
Partnership Instrument (ENPI) for delivering assistance to the region
for the 2007-13 period. The
ENPI Country Strategy Paper for Armenia
covers the period 2007-2013 is the main
framework for providing EU assistance to the country.
Links
- The
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Armenia
- The
British Embassy Armenia
- IMF
Armenia
- Armenia's
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
- UNDP
Armenia
Last updated: 23 May 2007
