The second meeting of the joint coordinating council of the Small and Medium Entrpreneurship Development National Center of Armenia (SME DNC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) took place on Wednesday in the framework of the joint Project for Development of Local Production and Promotion of Local Brands (Stage 2).
It was presided by the First Deputy Minister of Economy Garegin Melkonyan and Armenian SME DNC Executive Director Levon Mnatsakanyan. The Japanese side was represented by JICA Uzbekistan representative Murai Hiromitsu, JICA Yerevan Liasion Office representative Ruzan Khojikyan, representatives of the Japanese Embassy to Armenia and the project expert panel. The representatives of the USAID and UNIDO also attended the meeting as observers.
In his speech, the first Deputy Minister of Economy Garegin Melkonyan highly appreciated the cooperation with JICA and thanked for launching the new project, For his part, SME DNC Executive Director Levon Mnatsakanyan noted that the prevous stage of th project was highly effective, expressing hope that the second one will also ensure good results.
Thereafter, the head of JICA expert panel Seno Ryuji presented the results of the first stage of the project, as well as the plan and directions of the key actions during the second stage. Following the presentation, he responded to the questions of the attendees. Discussion was held on ensuring effectivity during the second stage.
The importance of complementing the cooperation and actions was underscored in terms of ensuring effective support in the country's provinces.
After the discussions, Gargin Melkonyan and Murai Hiromitsu signed a document, under which the project has been officially launched.
The joint project is the new stage of the Project for Development of Local Production and Promotion of Local Brands. The previous project was implemented from March 2013 to March 2015. The final objective of the project is to develop marketing methods and support local SME on the basis of One Village One Product (OVOP) program originated in Japan.
