Statement by the delegation of Armenia – Ms. Julieta Tavakalyan, Third Secretary of the Permanent Mission at the High-level meeting of the General Assembly of Middle-Income Countries - Permanent Mission of Armenia to the United Nations

Statement by the delegation of Armenia – Ms. Julieta Tavakalyan, Third Secretary of the Permanent Mission at the High-level meeting of the General Assembly of Middle-Income Countries

01 April, 2025

Excellences,

I would like to express appreciation to the President of the General Assembly for this opportunity to reflect on the emerging challenges faced by middle-income countries and advocate for more effective approaches to address their needs and vulnerabilities․

As highlighted by the World Bank, middle-income countries are home to 75% of the world’s population, accounting for one-third of global GDP. This indicates that with the right support, middle-income countries have the potential to significantly contribute to global sustainable development and improve SDG indicators worldwide. In this regard, Armenia strongly supports the development of a comprehensive set of criteria, extending beyond GDP, to promote a more efficient response to the priorities of MICs, including in facilitating access to concessional financing.

As a landlocked developing and middle-income country, Armenia advocates for enhanced cooperation in infrastructure development and connectivity, trade facilitation and access to global markets, as well as digitalization of the economy to promote sustainable economic growth for MICs and strengthen their integration into the global value chains. Introduction of innovative financing mechanisms for development can also contribute to addressing financing gaps, scale up assistance and provide debt relief to the middle-income countries.

Proper attention should be given to the unique challenges of MICs in addressing their environmental challenges that require sufficient climate finance for both mitigation and adaptation, along with resilience-building to prevent economic and other losses. As the incoming Presidency of COP17 on Biodiversity, Armenia is committed to promoting collaboration, capacity-building, and technology transfer, as well as increased investments in sustainable infrastructure, climate-resilient agriculture, and biodiversity conservation to enhance adaptive capacities of MICs, protect their ecosystems, and support achieving their climate goals.

Additionally, we emphasize the importance of coherent policy measures and transformed UN Development System and international financial institutions to provide tailed support to middle-income countries. In this regard, we highlight the need for elaborating a “Strategic Plan of action for MICs” as an important step towards need-based assistance to middle-income countries. We also believe that UN programmatic activities in middle-income countries should go beyond integrated policy advice and capacity building to promote access to technologies, infrastructure development and welfare to ensure better response to their development aspirations.

Excellences,

In the run-up to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development and the Second World Social Summit, Armenia will continue advocating for stronger partnerships and solidarity with and among middle-income countries to unlock their full potential and ensure their equal and equitable integration into all relevant global processes.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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