Friday, 24 July 2009
Today Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan received UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative (UN RC/UNDP RR) in Armenia Consuelo Vidal. Heads of UN Agencies and Programmes in Armenia were also present at the meeting.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, on behalf of the Government of Armenia, and Consuelo Vidal, on behalf of the United Nations, signed a programme of cooperation, which presents the strategic directions of the UN activities in Armenia during the upcoming 6 years. The 2010-2015 programme of cooperation has been developed in line with the main national development priorities outlined in the Sustainable Development Programme, taking also into consideration the impact of current financial and economic crisis.
With a budget of around 72 million USD, the 2010-2015 programme of cooperation, also known as the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), will address issues in the areas of poverty reduction, democratic governance, basic social services, environmental management and disaster risk reduction.
After the signing ceremony, a joint press conference of Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and UN RC/UNDP RR Consuelo Vidal took place. PM Tigran Sargsyan, highly appreciating the activities of the United Nations in Armenia, noted that implemented projects are in line with the logic and content of government programmes. The first direction focuses on inclusive and sustainable growth, and part of the resources will be directed for the implementation of sustainable development projects. The next priority is equitable access to basic social services, being followed by development of democratic institutions in Armenia, and environment and disaster risk reduction.
“It is very important that UN programmes focus on reduction of disparities in the regions and communities of Armenia, and community development projects have their important place in the 2010-2015 cooperation framework. These are the main priorities, which are included in this programme, and we are convinced that this cooperation will have an essential impact on sustainable economic development of Armenia,” said the Head of the Government of Armenia, thanking for long-term and fruitful cooperation.
UN RC/UNDP RR in Armenia Consuelo Vidal, thanking for the government’s excellent cooperation with the UN in Armenia, noted that the new programme of cooperation is a result of productive consultations with the Government of Armenia and the civil society and aims to bring to Armenia international standards, best practices, technical and financial resources to promote and develop national capacities.
The programme implementation will be overseen jointly by the Government of Armenia and the UN system.
