Bilateral meeting with H.E. Gevorg Papoyan, Minister for Economy of the Republic of Armenia, together with H.E. Arman Khojoyan, Deputy Minister for Economy

Rome - FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met with H.E. Gevorg Papoyan, Minister for Economy of the Republic of Armenia, together with H.E. Arman Khojoyan, Deputy Minister for Economy, on the sidelines of the 44th Session of the FAO Ministerial Conference, to discuss collaboration between FAO and Armenia in priority areas of work.

The Director-General recalled his recent visit to Armenia in September 2024 and shared his positive impressions of the food sector, mountain and lake areas, aquaculture and biodiversity in the country, noting that the country had big agricultural potential at national and global level.

The Minister conveyed warm greetings from his Government to the Director-General and appreciation for his leadership. He reaffirmed Armenia’s support for FAO initiatives, including the creation of the Office for Youth and Women. The Minister also noted the importance of the World Food Forum as a global forum in support of agrifood systems transformation. He also informed the Director-General that Armenia would be hosting the COP17 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in 2026.

The Director-General confirmed FAO’s technical support for the preparation of the COP17, and invited Armenia to make use of the World Food Forum platform to promote the COP17.

The Minister and the Director-General also discussed the current reform of the FAO Country Offices aimed at strengthening support at country level and facilitating increased cooperation. The pair referred to the current e country portfolio which consisted of 15 ongoing projects totaling USD 15 million, in addition to regional and global projects in key areas of cooperation such as digitalization, rural development, value chain development, climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural resources management and resilience, and animal health control.

Both agreed to continue to work together in support of agrifood system transformation in Armenia.