Ara Babloyan met with general secretaries of parliaments of Eastern  Partnership Countries

ArmInfo.On Deceember 6, the RA NA President Ara Babloyan made welcoming  remarks in the 2nd Working Meeting of the Secretaries General of  Parliamentary Administrations of the Eastern Partnership Countries,  the press service of Armenian Parliament reports.

Ara Babloyan highlighted the holding of the event in the RA National  Assembly. The Head of the Parliament thanked his Georgian colleagues,  the Secretary General of the Parliament of Georgia for initiating  this platform, as well as the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur  Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (German Federal Enterprise for  International Cooperation) for supporting the programmes directed to  strengthening of the parliaments' capacities. The RA NA President  noted in his speech:

"I am glad that a large scale of cooperation has been created between  the Parliament of the Republic of Armenia and the Parliamentary  Administrations of the Eastern Partnership Countries.  As you know,  the parliament is one of the main institutes of democracy, and its  work will be impossible without the Administration providing the  parliament's activities. Besides, the Parliamentary Administration  has an important role in providing the continuous and consistent work  of the legislative body, and it is not accidental that the  Administration is considered the institutional memory of the  Parliament.  The MPs are permanently changed, and the new ones are  coming, and part of them - for the first time. Their main support  should become the very Administration. The newly elected MPs,  beginning their activities should be sure that they have such a  support that would provide their main activities, The role and the  importance of the Administration, of course, are not limited with  this. We, the MPs, after being elected during the whole term of our  tenure, rely on the very Administration, and how high is the  Administration, so little are our working concerns.

And because of that the RA NA Chief of Staff-Secretary General highly  assessed the functions of the Administrations, as well as the  obligations of heading and developing the Parliamentary  Administrations by the Secretaries General.

The Republic of Armenia made a transition to the parliamentary system  of government in 2015, which supposes the essential increase of the  parliament's role, authorities and obligations. The functions of the  Parliament were considerably changed, the oversight function towards  the government has been increased in it, and it will be impossible to  implement such an important function without professional  Administration.  In this context we have begun, and we successfully  continue the development of the capacities of the Staff of the  National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, which was accompanied  by the specification of the functions in the Staff, the establishment  of the new obligations and the structural reforms. Within the  framework of those reforms the biggest programme, in my opinion, is  the initiative of the creation of the Analytical Centre of the  National Assembly. Our goal is to provide the monitoring of the  efficiency of the adopted laws and a body implementing the analysis  and the assessment, as well as representing substantial  recommendations on te possibility of applying the international  legislative experience and traditions in Armenia in any sphere. The  activities in this direction, certainly, will continue.  Assuming the  Office of the President of the RA National Assembly, from the very  first day I have deepened the working relationship between the NA  President and the Administration, and it was not accidental that I  refused the 80% of about 25 Advisers, Assistants and Aides designed  for the President of the National Assembly. I was sure that the  Administration of the National Assembly is completely sufficient for  efficiently organizing the works. I document with pride that my  conviction was right and the huge work done during the past period is  its proof.

Distinguished Secretaries General of the Parliaments, Ending my  remarks I express my special gratitude to you that you always stand  next to us, the legislators and provide the efficiency of our  activities.  I wish you effective work."