Yerevan Mayor and Chairman of the Board of the Union of Communities of Armenia, Tigran Avinyan, participated in the municipal forum “Speaking with One Voice on Decentralization Reforms.” Organized through the DeLoG program with support from SALAR International, the event is held jointly with the Union of Communities of Armenia for the first time. This year’s forum centers on communities presenting a unified framework for decentralization policy.
In his welcome speech, Mayor Avinyan emphasized that decentralization must go beyond legal or administrative amendments. It must evolve into a tangible policy, one that citizens experience directly through higher-quality services, more efficient governance, and increased local government accountability.
“Community authorities must be backed by genuine resources and institutional capacity. When authority lacks adequate funding, decentralization remains a mere formality. However, when communities possess the necessary tools and resources, they become true partners of the state rather than just administrative units. Only then does the unified voice of communities achieve real political significance. We must move beyond simply reacting to decisions; we must propose policies ourselves, carefully assessing their impact on local finances, governance, and the lives of our citizens. Our core objective is fiscal decentralization. If we want resilient communities, we must ensure a predictable revenue base, fair distribution mechanisms, and financial instruments required for communities to implement their own development programs,” stated the mayor.
In this context, Mayor Avinyan emphasized the significance of international partnerships, noting that international expertise is most effective when it leads to practical solutions that make local governments more competitive and resilient.
“Today’s forum is about consolidating communities’ experience, defining clear priorities, and drafting policy proposals to strengthen Armenia's system of local self-governance. I have three key expectations for the forum: reaching a consensus on unified local positions, moving fiscal decentralization from theory into grounded policy proposals, and reaffirming the Union of Communities of Armenia as a vital institution that not only represents communities but also strengthens them,” emphasized the mayor.
Remarks were also delivered by Eva Sundquist, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia, Arnak Avetisyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, and Ryan Knox, Managing Director of SALAR International. The opening ceremony was followed by panel discussions.