YEREVAN. – One of the main goals of the new 2014-17 Country Partnership Strategy of the World Bank with Armenia is private sector-led job creation, told Jean-Michel Happi, manager of WB country office, at a press conference in Yerevan in Tuesday.

Another aspect of the country partnership will be poverty reduction through a wider and more efficient social safety net. The latter is very important because the growth in Armenia in recent years has not largely been pro-poor: country’s GDP per capita in 2012 has been around 3700 USD compared to 3,400 in 2008.

“It is important to combat poverty because one of the three residents of the country still lives below the poverty line. Job creation will help the youth to stay in their home country,” Happi underscored.

Other fields of cooperation will include improving public governance and helping to eliminate corruption. Last, but not least, 72 million USD will be allocated as state budget assistance in 2014.

The Bank will retain assistance for infrastructure projects, such as improving irrigation systems, electricity supply network, as well as lifeline roads which link rural locations to the main road network.

“We will also assist Armenia in strengthening its quality management chain to ensure the quality of domestic goods and empower country’s exporters,” he noted.

And of course, the Bank will maintain its support for education and healthcare, Mr Happi added.