OSCE Office in Yerevan

The Office in Yerevan strongly supports Armenia's commitment to market economy principles and economic reforms. The programme focuses on the improvement of legal, administrative and institutional frameworks for doing business in Armenia, with an emphasis on small and medium entrepreneurship (SME) development and boosting foreign and domestic investment. It helps government and non-government actors to implement the Government's action plan on improving the business and investment climate and in monitoring its anti-monopoly policy and rural poverty eradication programme.

SME development

At the request of the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, the Office has supported the development of a system of indicators for the evaluation of state SME support programmes. Based on the system of indicators, a test run assessment has been carried out of a Government-funded SME loan guarantee scheme. The Office also supports the evaluation of other aspects of state and donor support, and has produced a handbook for professionals on ways to use the indicators and organize the evaluation and monitoring process.

In March 2007, the Office signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Centre for SME Development in order to facilitate Armenia's accession to and active participation in international legal compacts (such as the European SME Charter) and related knowledge networks.

The Office has also supported a number of publications for SMEs and policy makers, among them:

• An SME statistical reference book for 2005-06;
• A step-by-step guide for registering business in Armenia;
• A reference book of organizations providing SME support programmes and services.

Business incubator in Goris

Following a request by the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, the Office commissioned a feasibility study for the establishment of a business incubator in Goris (Syunik province), the findings of which were presented at an international conference on best practices in business incubation, which was held in Budapest in 2006.

As a result, an MoU was signed between the Office and SINTEF, the largest independent industrial research and technology development organization in Scandinavia, pledging co-operation on the establishment of business incubation practices and other SME support programmes in Armenia. The Office has prepared the necessary documentation package and is now in the process of fund-raising.

Combating money laundering and suppressing financing of terrorism

The Office supports the Armenian Government through a national working group and organizes training sessions for law-enforcement structures and civil society. It has also facilitated Armenia's integration into the international network of crime-fighting organizations and promoted greater co-operation, especially with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.