Deputy Ministers of Justice Karen Karapetyan and Levon Balyan welcomed a delegation led by Brandon Yoder, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the US State Department. Alexis Haftvani, Director of the US Embassy Yerevan’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), also attended the meeting.
The Armenian side expressed its thanks for the stable cooperation framework formed between the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Criminal Investigation Department, which resulted in significant successes in anti-corruption and penal service.
In particular, support was provided for developing anti-corruption strategic documents, organizing lawyer-client communication in penitentiary institutions through video calls, and introducing the Ministry’s Patrol Service.
Colleagues of the INL office noted that the USA is interested in expanding the scope of cooperation with Armenia, where reforms in the justice sector will also play a key role.
In this light, the Armenian side presented the significant progress recorded in recent years in the strategic fields of judicial, anti-corruption, penal enforcement, and probation, as well as the planned measures in the near future. The possible support of INL within implementing the latter was also discussed.
The deputy ministers welcomed the launch of the “Advancing Comprehensive Anti-Corruption Reforms project” in 2024 and the Ministry of Education and Culture’s readiness to expand cooperation with the Ministry and support the implementation of anti-corruption reforms within the framework of this project.
Within the meeting’s framework, detailed reference was also made to the reforms of the penitentiary and probation sector. In particular, the need to introduce a new model of security management of penitentiary institutions was emphasized, with a complete review of the regulations for the appointment of a position in the security management unit.
The INL office will also consider supporting the Ministry in this area. At the end of the meeting, the parties reaffirmed their willingness to continue and further deepen the practical cooperation between the Ministry and the INL office.
