The head of the Armenian Ministry of Environment briefed his Norwegian counterpart on preparations for COP17.

ArmInfo. During his visit to New York, Armenian Environment Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan met with Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment Sigrun Gjerlev Åsland and presented her with preparations for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17).

According to the ministry's press service, the conversation took place as part of a series of bilateral meetings to prepare for COP17, which is scheduled to take place in Yerevan, discuss presidency priorities, and strengthen international environmental cooperation. The meeting focused on Armenia's priorities as the current chair. The parties also discussed biodiversity financing and resource mobilization, ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions, mountain ecosystem protection, biodiversity monitoring and scientific data exchange, and strengthening the synergies between the climate change and biodiversity conservation agendas.

Furthermore, the importance of Norway's active participation in the preparation of COP17 and the further deepening of practical cooperation between the countries to facilitate the achievement of meaningful and significant results at the conference in Yerevan through joint efforts was noted.

As a reminder, COP17 will be held in Yerevan this October. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity is one of three key international environmental conventions aimed at regulating the international community's efforts to ensure environmental sustainability, the protection of biological diversity, ecosystem restoration, and the sustainable use of natural resources. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention is one of the largest global environmental events, held every two years. During the Conference of the Parties, participating countries develop mechanisms to implement the provisions of the Convention and adopt new commitments to strengthen the protection of natural resources. Representatives of civil society, including non-governmental organizations, indigenous peoples, the scientific community, women's and youth organizations, and the private sector actively participate in the work of the Conferences.