YEREVAN. – Becoming a part of the Extracting Industries Transparency Initiative is of utmost importance for Armenia, Mr Richard Mills, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, told Wednesday in his speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham).

The Government of Armenia filed the application to join the Initiative last month, which is highly commendable. But this is not an end in itself, and requires the Government and the industry stakeholders to align with international standards of extracting, financial reporting, environment protection, and accountability, he added.

This will greatly improve Armenia's economy, which largely depends on mining, he added.