In October a delegation of representatives from the EaP RSO visited Yerevan to meet with government stakeholders and discuss the next steps in developing a CADaS-aligned database for Armenia, ensuring it will be beneficial for Armenia’s needs.

The visit also included the official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the EaP RSO and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure (MTAI) of Armenia.

On signing the MoU, Deputy Minister, Christine Ghalechyan, highlighted the government’s proactive approach to improving road safety through legislative reforms and investments in infrastructure, part of which is adapting national legislation to EU Directives. She emphasised, in particular, the need for high-quality data from a black spot management perspective to support decision making and target meaningful interventions.

An important element of the visit therefore involved representatives from the EaP RSO’s Data Team, including Data Consultant, Egidijus Skrodenis, and Data Expert, Sandra Virbukaite, meeting with Head of the Data Collection and Evaluation Unit of the State Road Police, Karen Hovhannisyan. This meeting was extremely useful in determining the current status of road safety data collection and analysis in the country and identifying areas in which the centralised database of the EaP RSO can be of benefit. Mr. Hovhannisyan pledged Armenia’s commitment to collaborating closely with the Observatory and providing necessary data to support both national and regional analysis.

The Patrol Police and MTAI were both very interested in learning from the Lithuanian example presented by Egidijus and Sandra. Indeed, Lithuania is one of just 10 countries across the world that achieved the target of a 50% reduction in road fatalities between 2011 – 2020. Egidijus presented some insight into how Lithuania's successful reduction in road casualties was achieved, emphasising a comprehensive approach focused on road asset management, data integration, and collaboration between different agencies. As a follow up initiative, the MTAI are planning a study visit to Lithuania in the coming months to learn more about their approach and how it may be adapted and utilised in Armenia to achieve their own mission of reducing road fatalities by 50% by 2030.