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The President of the Republic of Armenia, Commander-in-Chief of the RA Armed Forces Serzh Sargsyan today at the Ministry of Defense of Armenia conducted a meeting with the participation of the commanders of the General Staff, headquarters, and military units.

The meeting was dedicated to the issues related to the process of procurement for the needs of the RA Ministry of Defense. The Head of the Presidential Oversight Service reported on the main findings and conclusions reached in the course of the examination.

The RA President’s Press Office informs that the issue raised in the report was pertaining to the transparency of the bidding process and assuring a competitive environment. After presenting a number of factual indicators, the Head of the Oversight Service noted in his conclusion that in the bidding packages there were numerous instances when the bidding was conducted by more or less same individuals. Besides, there have been cases with so called “universal” organizations which were supplying foodstuff, automobile spare parts, fuel and oil substances and were conducting construction works. According to the report, the investigation conducted in the last two years revealed that the list of the suppliers is almost unchangeable. In the course of the investigation revealed were also some circumstances which were also influencing the shaping of the competition environment and transparency of the process.

The second reported issue was pertinent to the market prices for the goods and similar items procured for the RA Ministry of Defense. It was noted the working group on the selective basis looked into some contracts regarding purchasing certain goods and agreements signed on their base. It was underscored that upon the Presidential instructions, in relation to the market prices for the goods purchased by the Ministry of Defense, after the investigation conducted by the Presidential Oversight Service in 2011, currently the situation has somewhat improved and in general the prices of the supplied goods correspond to the wholesale prices for similar goods. Nevertheless, according to the conclusions, some of the goods can be purchased at a lower price. At the same time, the working group established that not only high prices of the goods can pose some risks but also their actual quantity and quality.

At the meeting, the next issue under discussion was pertinent to the organizations related to certain individuals which won biddings and signed agreements with the RA Ministry of Defense.

The President assessed as impermissible violations at the expense of the scarce state resource and the troops and strongly criticized individuals who display such approach. “It is too bad that I don’t see a fierce fight against such persons inside the Ministry. The Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff must be watchful lest the people who struggle against such occurrences don’t have problems tomorrow or day after tomorrow,” President Serzh Sargsyan said and underscored that when a commander of a battalion, a company or a regiment observes that their superiors protect the people who are honest, the situation will change and will influence the entire moral and psychological environment. The Minister of Defense assured the President that from now one they will be more persistent regarding the works of the Ministry and according to the Presidential instructions will reinforce control at all stages of the process of the bidding organization and pricing, supply of the purchased goods and their handling. “Mr. President, we will be working on every detail and will do our best that the RA Ministry of Defense become exemplary in conducting the procurement,” Seiran Ohanian, the Minister of Defense said.

After the meeting, the President of the Republic of Armenia, Commander-in-Chief of the RA Armed Forces Serzh Sargsyan conducted private consultations with the Minister of Defense, Deputy Ministers, Chief of Staff and their Deputies on the issues related to combat readiness and armaments.