Deputy FM of Armenia holds talks with Director of Programme  Co-ordination at CoE

ArmInfo. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan received Claus  Neukirch, Director of Programme Co-ordination at the Council of Europe, who visited Armenia within the framework of the meeting of the interdepartmental commission of the Armenia-CoE Action Plan.

According to the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the  Deputy Head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry highly appreciated the  effective cooperation between Armenia and the Council of Europe,  based on close dialogue at a high level.

Hovannisyan emphasized the importance of the Armenia-CoE Action Plan  for 2023-2026, which is the basis of Armenia-Council of Europe  cooperation, which, in accordance with the reform program of the  Armenian government, constantly promotes the institutions of  democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the country through  strengthening the legislative, institutional and expert potential.   The interlocutors also noted the comprehensive package of the Council  of Europe, included in the RA-CoE Action Plan for 2023-2026, aimed at  meeting the medium- and long-term needs of Nagorno-Karabakh refugees,  within the framework of which the CoE provides expert assistance to  the Armenian authorities in providing their social, medical,  educational, housing and labor rights.

The Armenia-Council of Europe Action Plan for 2023-2026 (link:  https://rm.coe.int/action-plan-armenia- 2023-2026-hye/1680aa1616) is  a package of continuous reforms that provides for the improvement of  judicial and legal systems of the Republic of Armenia, increasing the  efficiency of justice, combating corruption, cybercrime, biomedicine,  improving medical care in penitentiary institutions, developing the  probation system, strengthening the social rights of women, children,  national minorities, etc.  The total budget of the project is 22.3  million euros, of which 2.8 million euros were allocated by the  Council of Ministers to meet the needs arising from the rights of the  forcibly displaced population of Nagorno-Karabakh. The program is  funded by the Council of Europe. Voluntary contributions were made by  the EU, Norway, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Ireland,  Cyprus and Liechtenstein.