Conference on the First National Report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative of Armenia

The Government of Armenia in collaboration and with the support from the World Bank and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) organized a Conference devoted to the First National Report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) of Armenia.

Representatives of RA Government, mining companies, civil society, EITI International Secretariat, governments of other EITI member countries and international organizations participated in the conference.

Today Armenia published its first  EITI national Report. It is one of the most important results of activities toward the implementation of the EITI Standard. This achievement was preceded by capacity building activities, sector-related studies, legislative amendments, etc.

The EITI National Report is aimed at providing comprehensive information about  the sector in one place, enabling stakeholders to use it for conducting analysis, initiating debates on key issues and  embarking on reforms.

RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan delivered an opening speech at the conference and noted: " Public attention has been always riveted on the metal mining industry in Armenia , taking into consideration its role in country's economy, as well as social, environmental, technological and other issues related to the sector’s activities. Thus, it is clear, therefore, that enhancing transparency and accountability of the sector and  making it compliant with international criterias is our primary goal. And the most reliable way to reach this goal is the full implementation of the EITI in Armenia".

"I would like to emphasize the importance of the successfully established Multi-stakeholder group. Its different members, from government, civil society and industry played a critical role in EITI’s Standard implementation in Armenia, and will continue to play a critical role in mining sector policy discussions": emphasized Sylvie Bossoutrot, Country Manager of the World Bank for Armenia.

Deputy Head of the EITI Eddie Rich said: "Mining is the fastest growing sector in Armenia.  Making sure that policy in the sector is well informed and carried out is going to be critical.  It will ensure Armenia gets what it should and builds an attractive investment environment. We congratulate Armenia on the publication of its first EITI report outlining in detail for the first time in one place how the whole mining sector is governed.  This information is increasingly available online.  It is the basis for good policy".

According to the EITI standard, state bodies and mining companies have provided public reports, based on which the EITI National Report was developed. The latter includes information on the payments from the metal mining companies to state and community budgets and revenues received by the government, as well as information on reserves, volumes and value of production, export and local sales by commodity in the metal mining industry.                              

Implemented reforms, along with the preparation of this report, ensured other activities in order to increase transparency, such as legal obligation to publish the metal mining contracts.

The official website www.eiti.am was also launched during the conference, where all the key documents on the EITI iimplementation are published. From website users can go to the EITI online reporting system. In 2018 for the first time state bodies and mining companies submitted their EITI reports through this platform, which are available in PDF format at  www.eiti.am .

For the main part of the database (for example production and export, employment, taxes paid by the companies to the state and community budgets, etc.) EITI national secretariat envisaged also some filters which can be applied to extract information users need. 

During the Conference 3 panel discussions were also held with the focus on topics regarding the transformative role of the EITI and the future of the systematic data publication disclosure of the beneficial owners, as well as the responsible mining.

 The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global standard that promotes open and accountable management of natural resources. Its goal is to create more transparent and accountable state and business systems, as well as to promote public dialogue, thereby guaranteeing mutual understanding between the stakeholders.

The most important feature of the EITI is the formation and functioning of a decision-making trilateral body, a multi-stakeholder group (MSG). The first composition of the Armenian MSG was set up in 2016, consisting of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, mining companies and civil society representatives, whose decisions are adopted by consensus.

The application for the EITI membership officially submitted by the Government of the Republic of Armenia was approved on October 9, 2017 at the EITI Board meeting in Bogota. Once the country has become a candidate member, it has to publish its first EITI national report within the timeframe set by the EITI International Board.