The formal consultation under the “DA UN COVID19 Project: SME resurgence and the role of competition policy post COVID-19” between UNCTAD and Armenian Commission of Protection of Competition (CPC) was held. The representatives of the RA Ministry of Economy, the Business Support Office, the Enterprise Armenia Foundation, the Competition Bloc of the Eurasian Economic Commission have also participated in the event.
Welcoming the participants, Mrs. Shushan Sargsyan, Member of the CPC noted that this program is a good opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss the challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises that they face caused by the coronavirus, as well as the ways to overcome them. In this context, she also emphasized the importance to protect competition and ensure a healthy competitive environment.
The issues on the evaluation of the impact caused by COVID19 on MSME in the context of pre-epidemic and post-epidemic competitive environment, identification of issues in the field of e-commerce, including lack of access to international online payment systems, involvement of SMEs in the public procurement process and development of necessary support mechanisms as well as capacity building and training courses on how to improve the level of public awareness on e-commerce among MSME were discussed at the event.
