The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity has officially kicked off Monday in Yerevan, Armenia's Minister of Environment Hambardzum Matevosyan wrote about this on Facebook.
"Today, at the opening plenary session of the conference, I was elected President of COP17, assuming the great honor and responsibility of leading the joint work of the international community.
I am grateful to the parties to the convention for the trust they have shown in Armenia and in me. I assume this responsibility with the commitment to serve all parties impartially, to make everyone's voice heard, and to turn our joint efforts into tangible results.
In the opening speech, I emphasized: we have a unique opportunity in Yerevan to assess the progress made in biodiversity conservation and to agree on further concrete steps. To achieve the goals set by 2030, it is necessary to accelerate the work, turning the commitments made into real changes.
The Armenia’s presidency [at COP17] will operate on the principles of open dialogue, inclusiveness and mutual respect. Our task is to bridge differences, build consensus and ensure the participation of everyone—from governments to young people, from the scientific community to the private sector.
Let Yerevan become the place where shared commitments are transformed into joint actions for the sake of nature, present and future generations,” added the Armenian environment minister.
