MoD Defence Policy Department

The General Department of Defence Policy and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia is the main professional structural unit of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia, whose activities are aimed at ensuring the main directions and goals of the defence policy of the Republic of Armenia within the competence of the Ministry, developing and implementing relevant programs based on them, planning international cooperation and fulfilling international obligations consistent with the defence policy, as well as coordination of the processes of formation of the international legal framework in the field of defence․

The department, in accordance with its goals and objectives, performs the following functions:

develops, coordinates and submits to the Security Council for approval the main directions and objectives of the defense policy;

coordinates the processes of development, coordination, approval and implementation of conceptual and programmatic documents defining tasks and priorities of the defence sector at the domestic and international levels;

plans, organizes, and coordinates the short-term, medium-term, long-term international cooperation of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia in all directions in bilateral and multilateral formats, ensures balanced allied and partnership relations of the Republic of Armenia in the field of defence;

develops conceptual provisions and approaches of cooperation with relevant structures of foreign states and international organizations, studies and submits proposals for the development of international cooperation;

ensures interaction with the state administration bodies of the Republic of Armenia, relevant structures and officials of foreign states and international organizations, in connection with the defence policy of the Republic of Armenia and the implementation of international cooperation;

coordinates the compliance work of the relevant subdivisions of the RA Armed Forces with international standards, including participation in international military trainings;

coordinates the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by the Republic of Armenia in the field of arms control and transparency in the field of defence.

The development of allied and partnership relations of the Republic of Armenia through international defence (military) cooperation provides an opportunity:

Russian Federation direction: to give the Armenian-Russian allied cooperation in the field of defence a more comprehensive and long-term nature, to clarify the mechanisms of joint planning and interaction, military-technical, military-educational cooperation, replenishment of weapons and military equipment of the RA Armed Forces, the use of joint groups and joint systems.

CSTO direction: develop the CSTO military component, form military command and control mechanisms. Provide the CSTO with real capabilities to respond quickly to crisis situations through the creation of appropriate forces, thereby increasing the military-political role and significance of the CSTO.

NATO direction: ensure the involvement of the RA Defence System in various individual and cooperation programs in the NATO/Partners format, to contribute to the sphere of defence transformations, to ensure the participation of RA Armed Forces subdivisions in international peacekeeping missions, to develop interaction of the RA Armed Forces.

OSCE direction: ensure that the international community is aware of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in Nagorno-Karabakh, that Armenia fulfills its international obligations in the field of arms control, strengthens morals in the Ministry of Defence, and reduces corruption risks.

UN direction: ensure the involvement of units of the RA Armed Forces in international peacekeeping missions, the targeted development of the capabilities of the remote-controlled medical equipment of the RA Armed Forces, neutralization of self-made explosive devices, fulfillment of the international commitments undertaken by the RA in the field of transparency in the defence.

US direction: ensure the nature of the strategic partnership of bilateral cooperation with the United States in the field of defence, at the same time providing education and training of the RA Armed Forces personnel through "International Military Education-Preparation" and "International Military Financing" programs.

Other directions in the bilateral format: cooperation in the field of defence and security will serve to bring together military-political positions to ensure regional security, consistently strengthen and diversify military and military-technical cooperation, record progress in certain areas of defence reforms and introduce the best international experience in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.