RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan received UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, who arrived in Armenia to participate in the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17). The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Krystyna Tatarian and Armenia’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Aram Hakobyan.

Welcoming the guests, Zhanna Andreasyan highly praised the effective cooperation established with UNESCO in the fields of education, science, culture, information and communication, reaffirming Armenia’s commitment to continuing and expanding joint initiatives. She also underscored UNESCO’s role in biodiversity conservation, the advancement of environmental education, and the promotion of the international agenda on the interconnection between nature and culture.

The Minister highlighted the importance of the initiatives planned with UNESCO’s participation within the framework of COP17, describing them as a valuable opportunity to strengthen international cooperation and enhance the role of education, science and culture in addressing environmental challenges. Zhanna Andreasyan expressed confidence that the conference would help strengthen international cooperation on biodiversity conservation by encouraging the more active involvement of educational institutions, the scientific community and young people.

In this context, the parties discussed opportunities to build on the cooperation established within the framework of COP17 and implement joint initiatives aimed at biodiversity conservation through education, science and culture. They also emphasized the importance of holding further working-level discussions between the relevant Armenian and UNESCO bodies to identify potential scope of cooperation and determine implementation frameworks.

UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany thanked the Minister for the warm welcome and highly praised Armenia’s active participation in the organization’s programs and initiatives. He described Armenia as a trusted partner of UNESCO, particularly highlighting the joint efforts undertaken in education, culture and cultural heritage preservation.

The sides reiterated their commitment to continuing and advancing cooperation between Armenia and UNESCO.