Environment Minister Hakob Simidyan received the newly appointed Ambassador of Germany to Armenia, Claudia Bush. Welcoming colleagues in the Ministry of Environment, the minister congratulated Mrs. Bush on her appointment, wishing her effective work for the benefit of expanding and strengthening cooperation between the two countries.
"The German government is a reliable and important partner for Armenia and, in particular, for our sectoral reforms. "The RA government is pursuing the effective course of all the projects implemented with the German side and is ready to expand the scope of cooperation," the minister noted.
Mrs. Bush, for her part, congratulated the RA government, in particular, the Ministry of Environment, on being selected as the host country for the Conference of the Parties to Biodiversity - COP17.
"The protection of biodiversity is a priority in the environmental agenda of both Armenia and Germany, and we can cooperate in the organization and preparation of the forum," Minister Simidyan noted.
During the meeting, reference was made to increasing the efficiency of the protection of specially protected areas of nature, the possibility of possible cooperation was discussed. The parties referred to the projects implemented with the financial support of Germany.
In particular, the largest grant program "Biodiversity and sustainable local development in Armenia" was discussed, the total budget of which currently amounts to 26.2 million euros. The program envisages two components: conservation and management of biodiversity and specially protected nature areas, forest protection and sustainable management.
The minister noted that within the scope of hosting the Biodiversity Parties Conference, efforts should be doubled and more concentrated in this direction. Possible cooperation in the direction of water resources management was also discussed. Simidyan expressed his willingness to deepen cooperation in all innovative directions.
