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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered remarks at the opening ceremony of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Yerevan on Sunday, stressing that Armenia views its COP17 presidency as an opportunity to accelerate the fulfillment of commitments undertaken in the field of biodiversity conservation and turn international cooperation into measurable results.
The Prime Minister highlighted that Yerevan is becoming a center of global dialogue and shared responsibility.
“Biodiversity is not merely the wealth of nature. It is one of the foundations of our lives, health, food and water security, sustainable development, and the well-being of future generations. The state of nature directly affects people’s lives, while the disruption of ecosystems can exacerbate many challenges facing our societies, which require a combination of scientific evidence, political will, international cooperation, and broad public participation,” Pashinyan said.
He emphasized that Armenia is assuming its responsibility in this shared endeavor. Armenia’s natural heritage, he said, from Lake Sevan to its forest and mountain ecosystems, is a reminder that nature conservation requires continuous work, responsible management, and long-term thinking.
Addressing the objectives of the COP17 presidency, Pashinyan stated that Armenia views its COP17 presidency as an opportunity to unite the efforts of the international community and direct them toward practical and tangible results.
“Our goal, alongside undertaking new commitments, is to accelerate the fulfillment of existing commitments, create new opportunities for cooperation, and make the contribution of every country and partner more effective for the sake of biodiversity conservation and restoration,” he said.
The Prime Minister also addressed the need to change approaches toward nature that have taken shape over decades.
“For generations, we have built our economies and cities on the assumption that nature is, as it were, an inexhaustible resource that we can manage and ultimately bring entirely under our control. But that is not how nature works. Floods inundating settlements, fires destroying forests, the ongoing degradation of ecosystems, and the extinction of species remind us of one fundamental truth: human well-being and the health of ecosystems are inseparable,” he emphasized.
It was precisely this conviction, he continued, that led Armenia, in the run-up to COP17, to bring together leaders and representatives of various sectors of society in Yerevan to develop a shared vision and strengthen their common commitment.
“Our message was clear: biodiversity conservation must remain among the top priorities on the political agenda, and the commitments undertaken must be translated into concrete steps and tangible results. Today, we bring that message to COP17 with a readiness to turn it into joint action, reaffirming our determination to move from commitments to their full implementation,” the Prime Minister said.
He thanked the COP17 Organizing Committee, which had brought together the efforts of state authorities, local self-government bodies, civil society, and other relevant organizations. Pashinyan highly praised the joint work, dedication, and close cooperation of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
The Prime Minister also expressed gratitude to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity for its cooperation and work toward organizing the conference, noting that this had made it possible to take another joint step in Yerevan toward biodiversity conservation and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
He thanked the delegates, representatives of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the scientific community, women and young people, and representatives of civil society, business, and financial circles for their trust in Armenia and their willingness to jointly shape this milestone in the history of the Convention.
Addressing the cooperation and shared responsibility established by the international community, Pashinyan emphasized that a global vision for nature conservation and living in harmony with nature had already been established, and the time had come to turn it into action.
“The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, set out our common goals and the milestones for achieving them. Now the time has come to turn that vision into action. Only four years remain until 2030, and our success depends on how consistently we can turn our commitments into concrete actions and those actions into measurable results. This is precisely the central mission of the Yerevan conference: to jointly assess the progress achieved, identify the gaps that remain, and agree on the priority actions that will enable us to move forward more consistently and effectively, turning our commitments into real change,” the Prime Minister said.
He warned that the path toward 2030 had reached a critical milestone: despite the results achieved and the progress made, a significant gap remained between ambition and implementation.
“It is precisely at this stage that leadership takes on particular significance. And may Yerevan be remembered not only as a milestone at which we reviewed the progress we have made, but also as the place where we reaffirmed our commitment and determination to fully implement our obligations and charted the path that will ensure the accelerated implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030,” Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister emphasized that no government, however capable, could address these challenges alone. Cooperation was needed at different levels and across different sectors of government, along with the involvement of cities and communities, Indigenous Peoples, women and young people, the scientific community, business and financial circles, and civil society.
“Their involvement must not be limited to mere participation; they must be genuine partners in our common goal—the initiators of change and the driving force behind efforts to advance biodiversity conservation. It is with this conviction that Armenia assumes its responsibility, guided by the principles of transparency, inclusiveness, and respect for every voice, as well as by the understanding that the true value of international cooperation becomes evident when jointly undertaken commitments are put into practice,” he stressed.
Concluding his speech, Pashinyan reaffirmed Armenia’s readiness to make its full contribution to the joint effort.
“The path toward 2030 has already begun. We no longer have time to wait. Armenia is ready to make its full contribution to this common effort and work with each of you to ensure that the agreements reached in Yerevan become the basis for consistent action and lead to real, long-term results for biodiversity conservation and restoration. May Yerevan become a milestone of renewed political determination. May this be the moment when we move from words to action and from fragmentation to cooperation. This means taking action for nature. With these words, I declare open the 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference, COP17, and the meetings of the Convention’s Protocols,” the Prime Minister said.
The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is held in conjunction with the 12th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP-12) and the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (NP-MOP-6). COP17 marks the first global review of collective progress toward implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).