9-11 November 2026, Yerevan, Armenia

Deepening institutional partnerships, connecting reform priorities and advancing cooperation between the Western Balkans and the Eastern Neighbourhood were key objectives of ReSPA’s high-level visit to Armenia, during which its delegation held a series of bilateral meetings with senior representatives of Armenian government institutions.

Led by Jelena Mrdak, ReSPA Director a.i., alongside Boris Ristović, ReSPA Programme Coordinator, Jelisaveta Tasev, ReSPA Programme Manager, and Filip Chaparoski, ReSPA Eastern Partnership Policy Officer, the visit provided an important platform for strengthening institutional dialogue and exploring cooperation in public administration reform, civil service development and European integration.

The visit comes at an important moment for Armenia’s deepening relationship with the European Union and its efforts to strengthen the capacity, effectiveness and accountability of public administration. In this context, ReSPA positioned regional cooperation as a practical bridge between policy commitments and the people, skills and institutions needed to implement them.

The visit began with a meeting with Davit Karapetyan, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, focusing on opportunities for institutional cooperation in the broader context of European integration and administrative reform. Key areas included potential cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of Armenia and ReSPA, particularly in European integration and international trade, as well as evidence-based policymaking, strategic foresight and analytical skills.

The delegation also met with representatives of the Prime Minister’s Staff: Heriknaz Tigranyan, Deputy Chief of Staff; Lilya Afrikyan, Coordinator of the Open Government Partnership Initiative; and Gor Aleksanyan, Head of the Department for Personnel and HR Management. Discussions focused on strengthening cooperation between Armenia and ReSPA through joint training, knowledge exchange and professional development.

Further discussions involved the Vache Kalashyan, Head of Civil Service Office and his team, as well as Avnik Melikian, Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan, with particular attention to opportunities for cooperation in civil service professionalisation and administrative capacity development.

At the Public Administration Academy of the Republic of Armenia, the delegation met with Rector Khachatur Ghazeyan and his team, exploring opportunities for closer cooperation in professional development, knowledge exchange and capacity-building initiatives.

The delegation also met Viktorya Aydinyan, Head of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Armenia’s representative in ReSPA’s Steering Committee. The discussion addressed Armenia’s evolving public administration reform priorities and the potential value of peer exchange on strategic planning, reform coordination, evidence-based policymaking and monitoring implementation results.

Together, these five meetings provided a broad picture of the complementary roles that diplomacy, central government coordination, civil service management, public administration education and reform leadership play in effective institutional transformation.

“Armenia and the Western Balkans share more than European aspirations — we share challenges, ambitions and the belief that cooperation drives progress. Together, we can turn shared experience into stronger institutions and lasting change,” underlined Jelena Mrdak, ReSPA Director ad interim

The meetings took place alongside ReSPA’s regional event, “EU Law: Effects, Transposition and Alignment – From Harmonisation to Application” (10–12 November), which brought together senior representatives, experts and civil servants from the Western Balkans, Moldova, Ukraine and Armenia. ReSPA brings together public administration professionals from the Western Balkans and works with institutions across the European Union and the Eastern Partnership. The visit underscored the value of connecting practitioners who face similar questions: how to recruit and retain talented public servants, develop future leaders, improve policymaking, make services more accessible and translate reform strategies into measurable improvements for citizens.

The meetings created a valuable basis for further dialogue on concrete, institution-led exchanges aligned with Armenia’s priorities and relevant European and international reform frameworks. Any follow-up activities will be developed jointly with the Armenian counterparts and subject to the applicable programme arrangements.

ReSPA extends its appreciation to the Armenian institutions and colleagues who contributed to the visit for their warm welcome, thoughtful exchanges and shared commitment to effective, responsive and future-ready public administration.