As UNESCO World Heritage Committee member, Armenia ready to  contribute to implementation of 1972 Convention

ArmInfo.  The Armenian delegation is participating in the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage  Committee, taking place in Busan, South Korea. During the general  debate, Armenia's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Aram Hakobyan,  confirmed his country's readiness to cooperate with all stakeholders  to strengthen compliance with the 1972 Convention Concerning the  Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

According to the press service of the Permanent Delegation of Armenia  to UNESCO, Hakobyan praised the World Heritage Centre's activities in  supporting countries underrepresented on the World Heritage List and  emphasized the need to further strengthen the Centre's institutional  capacity.

     In his speech, he also touched on the upcoming 17th Conference of the  Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), which  Armenia will host in October 2026, noting that the World Heritage  Centre plays a vital role in advancing the climate agenda and  biodiversity conservation by strengthening the linkages between the  protection of cultural and natural heritage and the conservation of  biological diversity.

As a reminder, on October 31, 2024, during the 16th Conference of the  Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Cali,  Armenia was selected to host COP17. This selection confirms the  growing trust of the international community in Armenia as an  important actor in global environmental processes. Armenia is now  responsible for coordinating and advancing international efforts  within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity,  helping to overcome the contemporary environmental challenges facing  humanity.

In June 2025, Armenia was elected for the first time as a member of  the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for a four-year term. The  Committee is one of the key governing bodies of the 1972 Convention  and makes decisions on the inscription of properties on the World  Heritage List, as well as on their conservation.