At the end of July, EaP RSO Technical Secretariat representatives visited Armenia to meet with our local project counterparts and discuss training and capacity-building needs with regards to improving road safety in the country. This understanding will form the foundation for joint capacity-building and targeted trainings planned under the EaP RSO project.

During the two-day visit to Yerevan representatives of the EaP RSO met with key focal points including the project’s National Data Coordinator and National Policy Coordinator as well as representatives from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Road Department, Patrol Police, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Health.

The visit included a productive working meeting with key Government stakeholders chaired by the Deputy Minister for Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Christine Ghalechyan. In her opening remarks the Deputy Minister highlighted Armenia’s commitment to improving road safety, noting that it is a priority for the Government. She emphasised that data quality and alignment with CaDAS are important aspects of their work to align with the EU acquis.

There was strong support across the board for building capacity and expanding resources for collecting and coordinating crash data across agencies and departments.

Following this meeting, Technical Secretariat representatives also took time to meet personnel from both Road Police and Patrol Police who have hands-on experience of working with crash data and monitoring crashes across Armenia. They were taken through the processes for data collection and analysis and discussed how the data is applied to inform and prioritise interventions. Representatives of both police departments were very welcoming of the RSO and its work and look forward to collaborating to improve and upgrade their systems for better results.

Overall, the visit was a crucial opportunity for the EaP RSO project to understand the capacity building preferences and overall working priorities of the focal points in Armenia. Local authorities were enthusiastic and ready to engage with our work, and collectively we look forward to improving road safety in the country.

The Observatory is extremely grateful to our County Consultant Poghos Shahinyan of the National Road Safety Council NGO for organising and facilitating all of these meetings.