Today, the US Ambassador in Armenia Richard Mills held a speech before the representatives of Armenian-American Chamber of Commerce in the RA, introducing the main priorities of his work during nine months as well as during the future work in the Embassy. Mills divided them into four directions, and one of them is the fight against corruption. He spoke about the real loses that Armenia compensates for corruption; Yerkir.am wrote.
“I hear about that toll from potential U.S. business investors and from average Armenians as I travel the country. When competition among businesses is not fair and not based on objective commercial criteria, when there are powerful interests that have disproportionate economic and political influence, it limits economic growth. Foreign businesses vote with their investment dollars; if they see a country suffering the ills of corruption they either don’t invest at all, or may decide to pull their money out.
According to the Ambassador, corruption affects more than just the economy. Corruption undermines democracy and rule of law. It breeds instability and mistrust in institutions, and it can threaten a nation’s national security. Richard Mills spoke about the Anti-Corruption Council as well, saying that the USA will support the Council; the Embassy will provide grants and financial support.
“Our financial assistance to the Council supports concrete activities, such as the continued development of its anti-corruption strategy and the establishment of an action plan. I would like to emphasize that we have conditioned our support to the Council on the attainment of measurable achievements. If the Council does not deliver, our support will end, plain and simple,” The Ambassador said.
