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The parliament has ratified an agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on hosting the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, along with CP-MOP-12 and NP-MOP-6.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Robert Abisoghomonyan presented the agreement to lawmakers.
“The conference will include the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the 12th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which regulates biosafety issues, and the 6th meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol, which regulates access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization. The agreement establishes the mutual obligations of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Secretariat of the Convention. It concerns legal, financial, administrative and organizational matters related to the organization and holding of the conference,” Abisoghomonyan said.
The agreement regulates the provision of the conference venue and necessary infrastructure, technical and communication facilities, arrangements for receiving delegations, and other matters.
“Ratification of the agreement is important, first and foremost, for the proper fulfillment of the international obligations undertaken by the Republic of Armenia. It also makes it possible to clearly regulate matters related to hosting a conference of this scale,” the deputy minister said.
Armenia will host COP 17 in 2026 and hold the presidency until 2028, undertaking to unite international efforts to address the environmental challenges facing humanity.
The Conference of the Parties (COP), the Convention’s supreme decision-making body, brings together representatives of the Convention’s 196 Parties every two years to review implementation and adopt decisions. COP17 will mark the first global review of collective progress towards the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Yerevan on October 19–30, 2026.