Today, Minister Hakob Simidyan received the Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Vasilis Maragos.
Deputy Minister Aram Meymaryan took part in the meeting.
Welcoming Mr. Maragos, the minister congratulated the ambassador on his assumption of office and wished him success in fulfilling his responsible mission.
At the beginning of the meeting, the minister spoke about the support programs provided by the Government to our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh and presented their progress.
Minister Simidyan highly appreciated the cooperation with the European Union in the field of environment and positively evaluated the results of jointly implemented projects.
The head of the delegation of the European Union in Armenia, the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, in turn, documented the positive results recorded as a result of cooperation and noted that the effective management of the environment is extremely important both personally and by the European Union.
During the meeting, reference was made to the Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the European Union and Armenia. The provisions of the agreement establish a wide range of areas of cooperation between the European Union and Armenia, including the provision of a cleaner environment.
Starting from 2019 since June, the Ministry of Environment has started the implementation of the activities of the "Environment and Climate Change" chapters of the Road Map of the RA-EU comprehensive and extended partnership agreement.
The minister noted that we have already made real progress in terms of legislative, institutional and capacity development.
A number of national and regional environmental programs implemented and currently underway with the support of the European Union were discussed.
Reference was made to the issues of water resources, biodiversity protection, forest management, atmospheric air protection and effective waste management.
In the context of the participation and proper involvement of the civil society in environmental protection and decision-making, Minister Hakob Simidyan presented the works of re-opening the Aarhus offices currently underway in the ministry.
Deputy Minister Aram Meymaryan spoke about the twinning project "Strengthened conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in Armenia in accordance with European standards", during which the legislative field of the sector is being improved today based on the achievements recorded. He also referred to the "EU4Sevan" ("Environmental Protection of Lake Sevan") program and expressed hope for its continuation.
At the end of the meeting, the parties stated that all prerequisites for further strengthening and deepening of the existing cooperation have been created. An agreement was reached to jointly develop a new agenda of the implemented programs.