YEREVAN. - Justice Minister of Armenia Davit Harutyunyan and UK Ambassador to Armenia Judith Margaret Farnworth on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding marking the launch of the joint program “Support to the Implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy of the Government of the Republic of Armenia,”the Information and Public Relations Department of the Justice Ministry informed Armenian News – NEWS.am.

The implementation of the program will contribute to the efficient implementation of the anti-corruption strategy of the Armenian Government, enabling to introduce substatutory regulations stemming from the law on the defense of whistleblowers, as well as raise the awareness level of the civil society and public on the defense of the whistleblowers.

Davit Harutyunyan expressed gratitude to the UK Ambassador for supporting the Armenian Government in fighting corruption, noting that the signing of the MoU will serve as a good basis for the further cooperation in the sphere of anti-corruption reforms.

In his words, the fight against corruption continues to remain one of the priorities of the Armenian Government, the actions stemming from it having been included in the 2017-2022 Government Program. Harutyunyan also presented the steps already taken within the framework of the fight against corruption, i.e. criminalization of unjust enrichment, establishment of an independent anti-corruption preventive body, adoption of a law on the defense of whistleblowers, etc. 

Ambassador Judith Margaret Farnworth, for her part, noted that supporting such initiatives is in line with the UK strategy on promoting democracy, transparency and human rights. Therefore, according to her, the Embassy welcomes the focus of the new Armenian Government Program on fighting corruption and hopes that the implementation of this program will also contribute to achieving success in the mentioned sphere.