Deputy Minister of Environment Aram Meimaryan received the delegation of the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the Rehabilitation Credit Bank (KfW). Heads of professional departments of the Ministry participated in the meeting. Welcoming the delegation's representatives, the deputy minister once again strengthened the close sectorial cooperation and exchange of experience with international partners.

"The cooperation with the Federal Republic of Germany in the field of environmental protection within the framework of the development policy in Armenia has deep foundations, as evidenced by the effective implementation of several continuous programs and the start of new ones. We are ready to develop even wider cooperation in the field of environmental management and to cooperate in directions considered a priority for the Republic of Armenia," the deputy minister noted.

During the meeting, reference was made to several jointly implemented projects; the deputy minister expressly referred to:

- to the most extensive grant program, "Biodiversity and sustainable local development in Armenia," implemented by the German Bank for Rehabilitation Loans (KfW), the total budget of which currently amounts to 26 million euros,

- To the "Protected Areas Support Program-Armenia" program implemented with the financial support of the German Revolving Credit Bank (KfW), within the framework of which the environmental and socio-economic and targeted investment programs are continuing, aimed at increasing the efficiency of the protection of protected areas, forest areas of Syunik region and the implementation of their safety. To the development of the capacities of the structures, as well as to the socio-economic development of the 32 target communities of the PDP-H program,

- To the "EU4Sevan" environmental protection program of Lake Sevan jointly financed by the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany,

- To the programs implemented by the Nature Foundation of the Caucasus. For more than ten years, the foundation has provided grant funds to support protecting nature-protected areas of the Republic of Armenia.

- "Management of natural resources and protection of ecosystem services for sustainable community development in the South Caucasus" (ECOserve) project implemented in cooperation with the German International Cooperation Company (GIZ),

- The Armenian-German scientific research project "Creation of science-based management tools for Lake Sevan" (SEVAMOD1) was implemented in 2018-2020 in the framework of Armenian-German cooperation with the German Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research. In 2020, the 2nd stage of the program - SEVAMOD2 - started.

The deputy minister expressed his satisfaction with the quality of all the implemented programs and noted that all programs and measures stem from the priority directions of the field fixed by the current schedule of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and that radical changes in the environment protection situation in the country are possible only as a result of proper management and cooperation. During the meeting, the parties pointed out the priority directions in the field and agreed to take joint steps to implement them.

"The policy of the sector is fundamentally aimed at increasing the level of the country's resistance to climate change through the implementation of the best adaptation practices, low carbon development, and the proper performance of the international commitments undertaken in climate change mitigation.

Based on the specificity of the sector, that it is directly interconnected with all directions prioritized by the German government within the framework of Armenian-German cooperation, to ensure further mutually beneficial and comprehensive cooperation, several strategic priority directions are considered by the Ministry of Environment, which also derive from the government's plan and active steps should be taken in that direction", the deputy minister noted and concluding the meeting expressed hope that within the framework of further developments, programs and measures providing more objective and tangible results will be implemented through appropriate mechanisms and tools.