Statement by H.E. Mr. Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN, at the First Regular Session of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board: Interactive dialogue with the UNDP Administrator

03 February, 2026

Mr. President,

Mr. Administrator,

Distinguished colleagues,

I would like to thank the Administrator for his clear and compelling presentation and congratulate on his first address to the Executive Board. We welcome the strong emphasis placed on restoring trust in multilateralism through delivery, at a time when global expectations of UNDP are rising while resources are becoming increasingly constrained.

We take note with appreciation of the results achieved under the 2022–2025 Strategic Plan, including UNDP’s leadership across poverty reduction, governance, climate action, resilience and gender equality, as well as its system-wide contributions through UN Volunteers, the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, UNOSSC and a reinvigorated UNCDF. These results underscore UNDP’s unique value as both a delivery organization and a system integrator, particularly in fragile, crisis and transition contexts.

Looking ahead to the implementation of the 2026–2029 Strategic Plan, Armenia strongly supports UNDP’s focus on prevention, resilience and upstream investment. We agree that development must be treated not as an afterthought, but as the first line of defence against instability, conflict and displacement. This approach is especially relevant for countries facing compounded vulnerabilities, where early, integrated and sustained engagement can prevent significantly higher human and financial costs later.

In this context, Armenia values UNDP’s country-level engagement in support of governance reform, resilience-building and climate and biodiversity action, including as we prepare to host the COP17 on Biological Diversity. As we have entered a new 5-year cycle of our programmatic cooperation with the UNDP, we look forward to strengthening cooperation with the UNDP in implementation of the Country Programme Document for Armenia for 2026–2030.

Armenia also welcomes the emphasis placed on sustainable finance and private sector engagement, including through UNCDF’s de-risking role in markets furthest behind. As highlighted, mobilizing private capital must expand public purpose, strengthen national ownership and translate into jobs, resilience and inclusive growth, not substitute development priorities with purely commercial logic.

At the same time, we cannot ignore the structural challenge highlighted in the Administrator’s remarks: the continued erosion of core resources. Armenia aligns with the call for predictable, flexible and multi-year core funding, recognizing that core resources are indispensable for quality, integrity, accountability and presence in high-risk environments.

Finally, Armenia welcomes UNDP’s constructive engagement with the Secretary-General’s UN80 initiative. We appreciate the clarity that reform must be operational, member state-driven, evidence-based and delivery-focused, ensuring continuity for programme countries while strengthening impact and accountability, and supported by robust, independently informed analysis.

Mr. Administrator, Armenia looks forward to working closely with you and with fellow Board members during this new phase. We stand ready to support a UNDP that is leaner where necessary, stronger where it matters, and consistently focused on delivering results that people can see, trust and rely on.

Thank you.

MFA RA
official website

Dual citizenship

Electronic visa

Visa applications