High-level Political Forum for Sustainable Development Ministerial Segment: “UN@80: Catalyzing change for sustainable development” Statement by H.E. Mr. Paruyr Hovhannisyan,[...]

Honorable President of ECOSOC,

Excellences,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am honoured to address the Ministerial Segment of the High-Level Political Forum, which comes at a critical juncture as we mark the 80th anniversary of the United Nations.

Throughout these eight decades the UN has spearheaded countless initiatives that have improved lives, advanced global cooperation and set standards for sustainable development. Nevertheless, the challenges facing humanity are continuously evolving, and so must too instruments of multilateral cooperation. The mechanisms and operation of the Organization are in need of targeted reforms to address the modern multifaceted challenges and to remain fit for purpose.

We reiterate the need to reinvigorate the multilateral system to strengthen UN's institutional capacities and look forward to the deliberations on Secretary-General's UN80 initiative. In this regard, we would like to underline that the efforts of enhancing the overall efficiency and coherence of the UN, and especially its Development System throughout this process should reinforce efficiency, coherence, responsiveness and more effective programmatic cooperation. Holistic approach across humanitarian-development-peace nexus is crucial for the development efforts to address the needs of the most vulnerable and build the foundations for sustained peace, stability and resilience.

Mr. President,

Armenia remains strongly committed to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. The recent assessment of Armenia's UNSDCF demonstrated a tangible progress towards the implementation of the goals, including SDG 3, 5, 8 and 14, under the HLPF review this year. With regard to the SDG14, earlier this year Armenia joined the BBNJ demonstrating our readiness to scale up cooperation with international partners in the lead-up to COP17 on Biological Diversity to be held in Yerevan next year. Currently we are also preparing our National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) which will fit into the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework within the COP17.

As the implementation of the KMGBF can strongly underpin the success on the implementation of relevant SDGs, we would like to take this opportunity to invite and encourage all member states and relevant stakeholders to present ambitious NBSAPs and National Reports to ensure effective KMGBF first Global Review at COP17.

In closing, I would like to stress that Armenia looks forward to welcoming all stakeholders, in Yerevan for COP17 and we believe together we will be able to celebrate the humanity's collective wisdom in safeguarding the mother nature for the current and future generations.

Thank you!