Armenia plans to create foreign intelligence agency

YEREVAN, July 12. /ARKA/. Armenia's government plans to establish a foreign intelligence agency, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said today when speaking at parliamentary hearings on re-establishment of the Ministry of Interior.

He said that the plan is part of wide-ranging reforms of the government implemented with the support of the parliament covering police, Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces. 'The Police reforms should be viewed within this broad context,' he said. 

"As part of these reforms, we plan to create a separate foreign intelligence agency. The Office of the Security Council has begun negotiations with partners to form this new structure," Grigoryan said.

He said in 2018, the government began the process of democratizing the security sector, which is also important in terms of security, stability and capacity building.

"In terms of the overall security system, we think it is important to merge the Police and the Ministry of Emergency Situations into one ministry," the Security Council Secretary said.

Grigoryan believes that the reforms will have a positive impact on Armenia's democratization process.

"We believe that democratization in all spheres of governance is vital for our state. We will continue to move in this direction," he said. -0-