YEREVAN. – Members of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly (NA) on Friday met with French Ambassador Jonathan Lacôte, as well as French Conseil d’État (Council of State) delegation members Yves Doutriaux and Yves Gounin, and representatives from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

The guests are in Armenia at the invitation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and within the framework of the Strengthening of Electoral Processes and Political Accountability program.

At the request of the guests, the committee members reflected on the constitutional and election law reforms in Armenia, as well as on the steps being taken to combat corruption in the country.

The foreign guests, for their part, presented the peculiarities of the French and Swiss legal systems in terms of the election process, and expressed their readiness for cooperation and exchange of knowhow.

Vladimir Vardanyan, head of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, stressed that in case of a need for constitutional reforms, the Armenian authorities stand ready to improve the country’s constitution as much as possible.

He added that reforms to the Electoral Code are on the agenda of the parliament, and stressed international partners’ assistance in implementing these reforms.

“At this phase, we are endeavoring to create a legal basis for carrying out economic revolution [in Armenia],” Vardanyan noted, in particular.

Members of the said Armenian parliament committee highlighted the need for beneficial and continued cooperation with international partners.