Bilateral meeting with the President of Armenia – H.E. Vahagn Khachaturyan

Rome – Today the FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and H.E. Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of Armenia, met on the margins of the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment taking place at FAO headquarters.

The President informed the Director-General of how the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing conflicts have disrupted fuel, seed, pesticide and fertilizer supplies and triggered price increases in Armenia, but that despite these challenges Armenia’s GDP grew by 14 percent in 2022. However the agricultural sector continues to face limited irrigation, infrastructure and markets, access to finance and efficient technology; and vulnerability to natural hazards.

The Director-General congratulated the country on such an impressive achievement and pointed out to several unique competitive advantages of Armenia’s agricultural sector, including access to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) market; and a compact geographic footprint and favourable agro-climatic zones for high-value plants. He invited Armenia to use all means offered by FAO, in particular the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative, and the World Food Forum, and to use FAO’s expertise to attract investments in the rural areas.

The Director-General assured the President that FAO stands ready to provide further support to the country towards agrifood systems transformation and in preparations for the SDG Summit in September 2023. Both agreed to strengthen long term cooperation, noting that 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of FAO-Armenia collaboration since Armenia joined the Organization in November 1993.