YEREVAN. – The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Board approved Armenia’s EITI candidature application at the EITI board meeting on Thursday in Bogotá, Colombia, and the country attained EITI candidacy status. 

Thereby, Armenia became the 52nd country that implements the EITI Standard, the Press Office of the Government of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“Implementing EITI will lead to transparency in the mining sector and increase accountability to citizens,” said Chief of Staff-Minister and MSG Chair Davit Harutyunyan. “These factors are essential for improvement of the business environment in the country. A well-managed natural resource extraction can become more profitable for the citizens of Armenia, and the EITI is the right tool to achieve this goal. By dint of EITI a huge amount of relevant data and useful information will be available to the all beneficiaries. And the most valuable aspect of the EITI process is the fact that the multi-stakeholder critical engagement will lead to increased trust and cooperation between all involved parties.”

The EITI in Armenia creates a platform for the government, companies, and civil society to hold a dialogue on financial accountability in the extractive industries. A delegation from the country participated in the EITI Board meeting in Colombia.