Testing of The Manual for the use of beneficial ownership data in extractives licensing and contracting

On July 8–9, 2025, a workshop to test the “Guide on Using Beneficial Ownership Data in Licensing and Contracting Processes” was held in Yerevan under the Opening Extractives programme.

The workshop was conducted by representatives of Open Ownership, Emily Manuel, Phoebe Williams and Julie Vial, together with Hasmik Manukyan, Head of the Armenia EITI Secretariat. The Armenian side was represented by specialists from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Justice, the State Register of Legal Entities and the Corruption Prevention Commission.

The draft Guide had been developed by Open Ownership, which sought to assess its practical applicability, ease of use, as well as identify any gaps and shortcomings before finalising the document. For this purpose, the organisation invited its Armenian partners to test the usefulness of the Guide by applying it to existing companies or applications submitted for exploration and/or extraction permits.

It was expected that specialists from the relevant authorised bodies would conduct such testing prior to the July meeting and document their observations and comments on the Guide.

Accordingly, on July 8 and 9, the joint discussion of the observations and comments recorded by specialists from Armenia’s authorised bodies took place at the meeting facilities of the Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan. The workshop provided an opportunity to exchange views on the Guide and present recommendations for its improvement.

The workshop was marked by a high level of engagement from the specialists of Armenia’s authorised bodies. The Open Ownership representatives expressed their particular appreciation to the participants for their active involvement. They noted that the workshop had once again confirmed the appropriateness of selecting Armenia as a country particularly well suited to test the Guide, given the exemplary experience and expertise accumulated by the country’s authorised bodies since the launch of the beneficial ownership disclosure process.

The Open Ownership delegation expressed hope that the final version of the Guide would be ready by the end of the year for distribution to participating countries and would incorporate the valuable observations and recommendations provided by the Armenian partners.