Remarks by H.E. Mr. Mher Margaryan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN, at the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board Annual Session

08 June, 2022

Madam President,

I thank you for your continued stewardship of the work of the Executive Board of the UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Achim Steiner for a comprehensive presentation and briefing on the UNDP activities, and the efforts towards the accelerated implementation of SDG’s and the recovery from the pandemic.

The 2021 Annual report demonstrates the critical role of the UNDP in promoting the sustainable development agenda in its economic, social and environmental dimensions and we look forward to taking our partnership towards delivering the vision of “Future Smart UNDP”.

We commend UNDP’s special focus on women empowerment and gender equality and efforts to increase women’s capacities for sustainable livelihoods and advance opportunities for female entrepreneurship. A number of joint programmes with UN Women, UNFPA and other partners were funded in Armenia to support female informal sector workers and women led Micro, Small and Medium enterprises.

In this context, I also would like to express appreciation to the work of UNFPA in Armenia towards strengthening family planning and reproductive health care system, elimination of gender-based violence and creating opportunities for adolescents and youth to ensure healthy lifestyle choices, leadership and participation.

Madam President,

Significant progress has been made in strengthening the governance systems and institutions, that safeguard human rights and uphold the rule of law. The UNDP in close partnership with the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia contributed to strengthening the capacities of election management bodies.

Given its extensive reach and cross-sectoral expertise, the UNDP is well positioned to facilitate and accelerate opportunities and help reduce inequalities between and within the countries, as well as to contribute to the recovery from conflicts, crisis and fragility.

The 2020 military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and crisis caused by COVID-19 global pandemic has impacted the pace of social protection reforms and development priorities. While valuing the UNDP’s support to meet the needs of people affected by conflict, more actions are needed to assist those living on the ground who continue to bear the direct consequences of the aggression.

Madam President,

The UNDP has an important role to play in supporting the local authorities and bringing much needed innovative solutions for long-term development. The recent trend in UNDP’s work on moving from projects to portfolio-based solutions contributes to this end, as also highlighted in the Administrator’s statement.

As we are in the fourth year of repositioning of the UN development system, we are pleased to note that the UNDP continues to coordinate and serve as a lead in UN system-wide collaborative approaches and action-oriented developmental policies.

I thank you.

MFA RA
official website

Dual citizenship

Electronic visa

Visa applications