The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia will develop new strategies and implement new programs in several sectors within the scope of the activities being carried out by the government. This is what Armenia’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan said during a meeting with Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden Peter Eriksson.
As reported the ministry to NEWS.am, Batoyan stated that human rights-based approaches to the development and implementation of policies on children, persons with disabilities, women and the elderly are very important for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
The minister expressed gratitude for the cooperation with the ministry, particularly touching upon the contribution that the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) has made to the reforms made in the labor market in Armenia. Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arman Udumyan added that there has been effective cooperation between the Swedish-Lithuanian Consortium and the State Employment Agency for many years and the ideas that were introduced within the scope of the cooperation and support plan lie at the core of 12-13 active programs in the current labor market.
Sweden’s minister for international development cooperation welcomed the changes taking place in Armenia and stated that Sweden is ready to deepen its ties with Armenia in different sectors, including gender equality, human rights protection and other sectors.
During the meeting, Minister Zaruhi Batoyan also talked about the problems that exist in the sector and added that the ministry is already developing and implementing programs to solve those problems.
The members of the Swedish delegation welcomed the fact that there is progress in terms of women’s participation in politics and decision-making processes in Armenia and that Armenia’s high-ranking officials attach importance to the issue of women’s participation. They were also glad to hear that there are programs that the ministry is implementing to provide women with jobs, support employed women taking care of children and other issues.
