On 12 August, the Armenian Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan held a meeting with the delegation of the deputies of the Landtag (state parliament) of Saxony-Anhalt, where he highlighted that the economic reforms in the country are a key component of the reform agenda, reported news.am.

The members of the delegation were accompanied by Acting Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Germany in the Republic of Armenia Klaus Wendelberger, who introduced the delegates and emphasized that Saxony-Anhalt is actively collaborating with Armenia in several sectors and emphasized the need to intensify economic cooperation.

Khachatryan presented Armenia’s current socio-economic indicators and attached importance to the need for actions to establish an export economy. “The government has the desire and persistence to change the situation quickly. It is also committed to rule out the impact of corruption on the economy and ensure equal conditions,” he added. Khachatryan also touched upon the results of Germany’s support to Armenia’s economy and attached importance to the programs for the improvement of infrastructure supported by the German Development Bank (KfW). The minister answered the deputies’ questions that were mainly related to Germany’s participation in the sectors and programs, which show potential for investments.

The german federal state of Saxony-Anhalt harbours close cultural ties with Armenia. Since 1996, Saxony-Anhalt represents all german federal states in Armenia in regard to cultural policy. From 2008, there is an active cooperation between the Yerevan State University  and the Martin-​Luther-University Halle-​Wittenberg; and several partnerships between the Armenian and Saxony-Anhalt lower level education institutions.

Germany’s development cooperation projects with Armenia concentrate on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, developing and reforming the financial sector, improving energy efficiency, promoting renewable energy, the sustainable management of natural resources and the establishment of nature conservation areas. Other goals are the development of democracy at the local level, administrative decentralisation, more efficient public finance management and the promotion of civil-society participation in the political decision-making processes.