Completion and Learning Review Validation - Republic of Armenia - FY19-FY23 Country Partnership Framework

Jul 19, 2026

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Completion and Learning Review Validation assesses the World Bank Group’s Completion and Learning Review covering FY19–FY23 under Armenia’s Country Partnership Framework, including updates reflected in the Performance and Learning Review. The validation summarizes development outcome and World Bank Group performance ratings, reviews progress across nine CPF objectives by focus area, and highlights strengths, gaps, and implementation deviations. Key findings include moderately satisfactory outcomes overall, fair Bank performance, and limited measurement of several important impacts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages54

Reading Time2 h 16 min

Executive Summary

Validation scope and program context

Development outcome ratings by focus area

World Bank Group performance assessment

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Completion and Learning Review Validation Republic of Armenia FY19-FY23 Country Partnership Framework May 17, 2024 Ratings | Indicator | CLR Rating | CLRV (IEG) Rating | | --- | --- | --- | | Development outcome | Satisfactory | Moderately Satisfactory | | World Bank Group performance | Good | Fair | Note: CLR = Completion and Learning Review; CLRV = Completion and Learning Review Validation; IEG = Independent Evaluation Group. I. Executive Summary i. This validation of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Completion and Learning Review (CLR) encompasses the period of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for FY19-FY23, approved on February 28, 2019, and updated in the Performance and Learning Review (PLR) dated April 18, 2022. ii. The primary aim of the CPF was to support the Government of Armenia’s (GOA) vision for a fair, inclusive, and citizen-focused Armenia. The program’s objectives reﬂected several ﬁndings of the 2017 Systematic Country Diagnosis (SCD), incorporating the twin goals and other key corporate priorities. Focus Area II (Human Capital Development and Equity) directly addressed the twin goals. The other Focus Areas supported key sectors like rural roads, agriculture, and irrigation, expected to disproportionately beneﬁt vulnerable communities and groups. The CPF’s omission of institutional strengthening and capacity building as an explicit objective limited the program’s eﬃcacy in promoting core governance reforms with broader development impact. During the Covid-19 pandemic and after the 2020 military conﬂict, the WBG's eﬀorts were directed towards expanding critical medical supplies and bolstering social protection for displaced populations, mitigating the social impacts of these events. iii. Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) rates the CPF development outcome as Moderately Satisfactory. Of the nine objectives, one was Achieved, four were Mostly Achieved, and four were Partially Achieved. Focus Area I (Export Enablers and Firm Competitiveness) was rated Moderately Satisfactory, achieving most targets for export sector growth, but with a limited impact on the overall country export performance. The rural population’s access to all-season roads increased, while there has been mixed evidence regarding trends in the reliability of electricity supply. Speciﬁc targets in the business environment were met but those reforms did not address major investment climate bottlenecks or weaknesses. Public investment management has been improving, and private ﬁnancing for energy projects has expanded. Focus Area II (Human Capital Development and Equity) was rated Moderately Satisfactory. Early childhood education enrollment rose, but broad educational quality improvements are yet to be seen. Unfortunately, the impact on the employability of school graduates was not tracked. Access to core health services expanded, but basic health indicators like maternal mortality did not improve. The Concept Note for the new health insurance system was approved. Advances in targeting social beneﬁts lagged, while progress towards several other targets in social services were achieved. Focus Area III (Sustainable Management of Environmental and Natural Resources) was rated Moderately Satisfactory. Signiﬁcant gains were made in expanding renewable energy capacity, but the direct contribution of the WBG to this growth was smaller than expected. The target for sustainable land management was surpassed. An inventory of abandoned mining sites was prepared, and a new Mining Strategy was adopted, but there is as yet little evidence of development impact from these eﬀorts. Implementation of improved management practices in the mining and water sectors was limited. iv. On balance, IEG rates the WBG performance as Fair. The CPF’s overall objectives were appropriate and consistent with Armenia’s major development challenges with the exception of governance reform. The CPF ben

FAQs

What is the scope of the Completion and Learning Review Validation for Armenia?

It covers the World Bank Group’s Completion and Learning Review for the FY19–FY23 Country Partnership Framework, including the update reflected in the Performance and Learning Review dated April 18, 2022.

How does IEG rate the CPF development outcome and what does it imply?

IEG rates the development outcome as Moderately Satisfactory, with one objective Achieved, four Mostly Achieved, and four Partially Achieved, alongside focus-area-specific results.

Why is the World Bank Group performance rated Fair in the validation?

The validation cites issues such as insufficient selectivity in design, inadequate monitoring and evaluation arrangements, disparities in support intensity across sectors, and underestimation of capacity risks, despite continued proactive supervision and compliant safeguards.

Jul 19, 2026

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