OREANDA-NEWS. June 28, 2011. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is supporting the  Armenian government’s efforts to make the country’s business inspections process more targeted, transparent, and efficient.

New amendments to Armenia’s inspections law—incorporating IFC advice and adopted by the Armenian government on June 23—will enable the introduction of risk-based inspections that group businesses into three risk categories; high, moderate, and low-risk. The number of inspections for businesses in the low-risk category will be reduced significantly, saving businesses time and resources while making the inspection system more efficient.

“These amendments are an important step in lowering the regulatory burden on businesses,” said Arsen Nazaryan, Project Manager of the IFC Armenia Doing Business Reform and Regulatory Simplification Project. “We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Armenia’s Ministry of the Economy, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other partners to improve Armenia’s investment climate.”  

The IFC Armenia Regulatory Simplification – Doing Business Reform Project is run in partnership with the Austrian Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands , the Luxemburg Ministry of Finance, and the Consortium of Commercial Promotion of Catalonia.  The project is part of IFC’s broader regional effort to help governments in Europe and Central Asia implement reforms that strengthen the small and medium business sector.  

Since Armenia became a member of IFC in 1995, IFC has invested USD 110 million in 24 projects across industries, including financial markets, general manufacturing, and mining. IFC Advisory Services provide advice through projects focusing on the financial sector, sustainable energy, and investment climate regulatory simplification.