Statement by H.E. Mr. Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN, at the UNGA81 5th Committee/ 1st plenary meeting

05 October, 2026

Mr. Chair,

At the outset, I would like to extend our appreciation to the previous chair of the Fifth Committee Ambassador Horváth for her tireless efforts and dedication throughout the 80^th session of the General Assembly and wish every success to Ambassador Ibrahim Folorunsho Jimoh of Nigeria.

As the UN faces liquidity crisis and goes through a range of essential reforms, it’s of utmost importance to make sure that the United Nations is adequately resourced and fit for purpose. In this context, we reaffirm Armenia’s commitment to meeting its financial obligations to the Organization.

I am pleased to note that, in 2026, Armenia was the first Member State to pay its annual assessment to the United Nations regular budget. Armenia made its payment in early January 2026, within the 30-days period established under the Financial Regulations. Throughout years decades, Armenia has always appeared in the honors roll for the timely contributions to the UN regular budget, as we share the belief that the UN budget, first and foremost, serves the UN Charter, its goals and principles, and enables proper delivery of the United Nations’ mandate. This reflects our firm commitment to the United Nations and the principle of collective responsibility for ensuring the Organization’s financial stability.

Armenia believes that a financially sustainable United Nations requires not only timely payment of assessed contributions, but also responsible, transparent and efficient management of resources entrusted to the Organization.

We recognize the importance of the ongoing efforts to make the United Nations more effective, agile and efficient, including through the UN80 Initiative. At the same time, efficiency should go hand in hand with ensuring the Organization’s capacity to effectively implement its mandates and respond to the diverse needs of Member States. Mandate implementation should prioritize technical assistance and knowledge transfer that strengthen national institutions over the long term, with capacity building instead of substitution serving as a key indicator of mandate effectiveness.

As both a middle-income and landlocked developing country, Armenia attaches particular importance to ensuring that the specific circumstances and development needs of MICs and LLDCs are adequately reflected in the work of the United Nations. We support a structured and action-oriented approach to addressing the needs of middle-income countries. The programmatic cooperation with this group of countries needs to reflect the specific challenges of MICs, while focusing on national capacity building and technology transfer.

Mr. Chair,

Armenia remains committed to constructive engagement within the Fifth Committee. We look forward to working with all delegations to advance the United Nations that is financially sustainable, accountable, efficient and capable of effectively implementing the mandates entrusted to it by Member States.

Summing up, we would like to express a sincere hope that the Fifth Committee will succeed in meeting its objective in a timely manner and by consensus.

Thank you.

MFA RA
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