Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of the Republic, spoke with the Egyptian news channel "Al Qahera News."

- How would you rate the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm El Sheikh?

- Conferences of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have traditionally become important events in raising global issues related to climate change and finding mechanisms to combat them. The 27th conference organized in Sharm El Sheikh was not an exception in this regard. So that you know, the round tables and bilateral meetings within the configuration effectively assess the problems in depth and find ways to solve them.

- To what extent Armenia has been affected by climate change?

- Climate change and its impact on the environment is a global problem that cannot bypass Armenia or any other country, regardless of geographical location, area size, or other characteristics. Naturally, these changes affect the climatic conditions of Armenia. According to experts' assessment, the average air temperature in Armenia increased by 1.3 degrees, and precipitation decreased by 9 percent, making our country one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. As a result, the unprecedented reduction of water resources has become a severe problem; the weather has undergone unusual changes: winter is milder, and summer is hotter. Climate change impact assessment is quite a complex process, requiring constant and long-term observation and analysis. For example, these changes lead to changes in traditional crop rotation and harvest times in agriculture. On the other hand, climate change and temperature rise also have social consequences.

In a broad sense, climate changes have their economic consequences because, in such a situation, there is a need to develop further "green economies" to adopt a unique approach to the use of natural, alternative sources of energy, such as solar and wind energy, and to emphasize in economic development cushion technologies and ecologically clean energy, on use.

- How faithful is Armenia to the necessary instructions for combating climate change? What can your country offer in the climate crisis?

Armenia has signed the "Paris Convention" on Climate Change Countermeasures and thereby assumed several obligations. According to these commitments, the Republic of Armenia must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in 2030 compared to the 1990 level. Armenia is developing a long-term strategy for low-emission development, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

We are committed to implementing our responsibilities, and there can be no other opinion here. Climate change is not a problem of individual countries and concerns the whole world. Every country should contribute and play a role in facing global issues and challenges within its capabilities.

- Do the spheres of cooperation between Egypt and Armenia include the issue of climate change? What are the main directions of cooperation between Egypt and Armenia in other fields?

Relations and cooperation between Armenia and Egypt have the best traditions and great potential for development. From this point of view, we are naturally ready to deepen the existing collaboration and expand the spheres of cooperation.

This year we celebrated the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between our countries. a vital milestone which, I am sure, will be a new impetus for the further expansion of bilateral ties.

Despite the challenges of recent years (coronavirus, Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh and Armenia, and the situation in Ukraine), Armenian-Egyptian relations have continued to develop and deepen and perhaps even strengthened. The high-level political dialogue between our countries has been maintained. We expect high-level visits from Egypt early next year.

There is also progress in terms of economic relations. This year is quite promising; in the first eight months, the volume of mutual goods turnover has increased five times compared to the same period in 2021; at the end of the year, of course, we expect higher indicators.

A more prominent example is tourism. Egypt has already become one of the favorite places of our citizens. A new impetus for activating mutual tourist flows will be the recent facilitation and simplification of the visa regime between Armenia and Egypt.

One of the directions of Armenian-Egyptian cooperation can be the joint fight against the challenges of climate change.