Announcement of the launch of the Twinning project in Armenia

A kick-off meeting held in Yerevan in September saw the official launch of a Twinning project between the European Union and the National Accreditation Body of Armenia (ARMNAB). Over the next 18 months and under the leadership of the German accreditation body Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS), ARMNAB will be modernised and reoriented on the basis of international standards and in accordance with the EU regulatory framework.

The Twinning project, “Setting conditions for recognition of the Armenian Accreditation System by the European co-operation for Accreditation”, supports the implementation of a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the European Union and Armenia with regard to an internationally recognised accreditation and conformity assessment system in Armenia. It also serves to prepare for the so-called peer evaluation of the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA). The project is being implemented together with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the Italian accreditation body ACCREDIA.

Next steps in the project

Back in June, the project partners took the first steps to revise the legal and procedural framework with regard to ISO/IEC 17011 and the relevant provisions of EU Regulation 765/2008/EC. Over the coming 18 months, further individual measures will be used to strengthen the technical competencies of ARMNAB and create new structures. These include activities in the areas of legal advice and the training of employees and auditors, as well as the development of a quality management system that meets the requirements of the international and European accreditation organisations IAF, ILAC and EA.

Kick-Off in Yerevan

“With our expertise, and together with our colleagues from Italy, our job is to help with the development of the national accreditation body ARMNAB. Because only a functioning and internationally recognised accreditation system can contribute to strengthening the quality infrastructure worldwide and promoting the competitiveness and sustainable development of a national economy,” said Dr.-Ing. Stephan Finke, Chief Executive Officer of DAkkS, at the kick-off meeting in Yerevan.

The kick-off event on 24. September in Yerevan was attended by numerous high-ranking guests from the worlds of politics and business, including Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, and German Ambassador Klaus Wendelberger.

In his opening speech, Frank Hess, Head of the Cooperation Department of the EU Delegation to Armenia, pointed out that strengthening quality infrastructure is a crucial element in ensuring the competitiveness of Armenia’s export sector.

German project manager Thomas Facklam (DAkkS) emphasised that the kick-off meeting marks the starting point for the collaboration between the German and Italian accreditation bodies and ARMNAB, and that the focus is on both the transfer of knowledge and expertise and an expansion of the technical competence of our colleagues from ARMNAB.

Ani Obosyan, the Armenian project manager at ARMNAB, sees this project as an opportunity to strengthen relations between the parties involved and to make Armenia’s economy more visible to Europe.