ArmInfo.The World Bank confirmed readiness to assist Armenia in the field of environmental protection. This was stated by the head of the WB Yerevan office, Sylvie Bossutro, during a joint meeting of the ministries of the Republic of Armenia with representatives of the World Bank, timed to the process of solving environmental problems and overcoming financial challenges. According to the press service of the Ministry of Nature Protection, during the meeting the participants discussed mechanisms for mobilizing financial resources for environmental protection.
The head of the department Eric Grigoryan presented the main priorities of the policy of the ministry headed by him. "The mechanism of" Nature - external debt "has been changed somewhat, which is conditioned not by the process of repayment of external debt, but by global environmental responsibility, and we are glad that the initiative was supported by the World Bank," he said.
The World Bank's leading environmental consultant Adriana Damianova presented the program "Mechanisms of financial mobilization for the protection of the environment" to participants, noting the main environmental risks of Armenia, methods of combating them, and mechanisms for attracting domestic and external financial resources.
Participants were also presented that, in the context of current processes, the Armenian side, within the framework of the Paris Agreement, undertakes to provide 20.1% of the country's territory with forest plantations by 2050, for which it is necessary to attract several million dollars.
Recall that within the framework of the program "Nature: External Debt", a phased reduction of the external debt is envisaged, incl. due to the implementation of environmental programs estimated at $ 570 million. The Ministry of Nature Protection is developing a "road map", which will be presented to the World Bank. However, their implementation, and the specific amounts to be written off from the external debt, will become known in the next 2-3 years.