Armenia’s Minister of Environment Romanos Petrosyan today received the delegation led by Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin.

Greeting the guests, the minister emphasized that he attaches great importance to the close cooperation with international partners, European countries and particularly EU member states for environmental management.

In her turn, Wiktorin expressed gratitude for accepting the offer to meet during the difficult post-war era.

During the meeting, the parties discussed a number of issues on Armenia-EU cooperation in the environmental sector and the upcoming programs and projects.

The minister touched upon the 44-day war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) that not only caused human casualties and humanitarian losses, but also led to the emergence of serious environmental issues and changes of the priorities earmarked in the environmental sector.

Petrosyan presented the top three issues that need to be solved first, including restoration of the ecosystem of Lake Sevan; systemic management, protection and conservation of forested areas, forests and specially protected natural areas and structuring of the right model of balanced relations between the business environment and the environment in special protected natural areas. The minister emphasized that the EU has vast experience in these areas and that the Ministry of Environment anticipates the use of this experience and active support from its partners.

Wiktorin expressed confidence that Armenia, which has resisted challenges (the war and the consequences of COVID-19) will be able to recover and implement the programs in a short period of time. She also underscored the scope of opportunities provided in the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement and stressed the EU’s willingness to support the Government of Armenia to implement its priorities effectively.