On November 4, 2021, a working meeting was held at the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure with the members of the EITI MSG, the agenda of which was to discuss issues related to holding public hearings in the communities during the EIA expertise process. The reason for organizing the discussion was the announcement made by the civil society faction of the MSG in connection with the public hearings in Urut settlement and Gladzor community.
The meeting was attended by members of the EITI Multi-Stakeholder Group Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Kristine Ghalechyan (substituting a MSG member), Deputy Environment Minister Gayane Gabrielyan, Director of Transparency International Anti-Corruption NGO Sona Azyvazyan, Executive Director of Forests of Armenia Environmenta NGO Nazeli Vardanyan, President of " Center of Community Mobilization and Support" NGO Oleg Dulgaryan, Suren S. Nersesyan - Associate Professor at YSU Faculty of Geography and Geology - Chair of Regional Geology and Minerals Survey,
General Director of "ASSAT-M" LLC Aram Osikyan, Chief Accountant of "Meghradzorgold" LLC Manvel Yeghiazaryan, the representatives of Deputy Prime Minister S. Papikyan's office and the EITI Secretariat.
The meeting was attended by officials of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, and the Environment Ministry, as well as the representatives invited by the Civil Society Faction of the EITI - Inga Zarafyan, President of EcoLur Informational NGO, Arthur Grigoryan, Environmental Law Specialist Arthur Grigoryan and Armen Stepanyan and Arman Vardanyan, Gladzor Community residents invited by MSG mining companies.
The representatives of the authorized bodies participating in the meeting referred to the legislative regulations on public hearings, clarified certain legal provisions, noting that the actions of the initiating group presenting the mining project in the special case described in the statement of the MSG Civil Society Faction were lawful.
The other participants in the discussion expressed their position on the need for changes in the global settlement of the issue, as well as the fact that the views of various stakeholders should be included in the new document of Armenia's mining development strategy currently under discussion and in the development stage.
As a result of the meeting, minutes were drawn up, by which the participants of the discussion decided to submit a package of proposed legislative amendments on the discussed issues to the EITI Secretariat within 15 days.
December 03, 2021 at 16:28