Armenia and Russia to jointly monitor budget expenditures on food security

YEREVAN, October 17. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Control Chamber and Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation will jointly control the efficiency of budget funds distribution on food security, Accounts Chamber chairman Sergey Stepashin said. 

He mentioned that this control will refer to the products exported to the Russian market.

During the joint meeting in Yerevan on Wednesday, Armenia’s Control Chamber and Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation signed a new cooperation program for 2013-2015. The new program is targeted at controlling a number of events, as well as exchanging experience and skills. 

“At the meeting, we also discussed meat products exported to the Russian market. Bearing in mind the African swine fever, which Russia, unfortunately, got from Georgia, we underscored the importance of the joint actions. Today for the first time I heard a very concerning figure- some 700,000 pigs were killed in Russia, that is why we must be protected from this virus from outside, and create such conditions which will ensure import of good and healthy production, including that from Armenia,” Stepashin said.

Along with this, he also noted that there are no objectives for Armenia to export its products to Russia, but “unfortunately, our countries have different normative documents, that is troubling for those who want to produce and export the production to Russia.” 

“We resumed at the meeting that unification of our legislative and normative bases is one of the most important issues for us. And it must be discussed by governments and parliaments of the both states,” Stepashin said adding that commercial and economic cooperation between the two states is developing dynamically.

During the meeting the sides also elaborated on the outcomes of “Joint control over food import and export management between Armenia and Russia” program, as well as 2010-2012 cooperation program. The sides also decided to additionally monitor the technical maintenance of Verkhny Lars (Upper Lars) checkpoint on Armenian-Georgian border. -0-