Bilateral meetings with H.E. Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, and H.E. Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia

Yerevan - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met with His Excellency Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, during the Director-General’s two-day visit in Armenia, to discuss current collaborations and means to further strengthen relations between FAO and Armenia.

The Prime Minister welcomed the Director-General and expressed his appreciation for the close cooperation with FAO, and thanked him for visiting Armenia and for the opportunity to discuss matters of mutual interest and collaboration.

The Director-General conveyed his appreciation through the Prime Minister to the Government and the President of Armenia for the kind invitation and mentioned how delighted he was to visit Armenia as one of the ancient civilizations of culture and agriculture. The Director-General stated that FAO was ready to support Armenia in modernizing its agrifood system for the benefit of the country, and the region. He added that the right to food was a basic right and that, therefore, fighting food insecurity was a critical collective goal, noting the importance of also paying attention to achieving the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this regard, the Director-General also noted that it was crucial to not use arable land for other purposes as it was a precious natural resource.

The Director-General referred to his meeting with the Minister of Economy who had informed of the increased substantial investments in agriculture and noted that Armenia had good potential to: 1) increase competitiveness of its agricultural products; 2) learn how to produce more with less through science and innovation leading to the development of new varieties); 3) increase further investments in agriculture, thereby closing gaps between urban and rural areas to support small holder farmers; and 4) improve infrastructure, roads, storage, etc.  For this reason, the Director-General emphasized the need for ongoing dialogue between relevant Ministers to ensure a holistic design for the transformation of the country’s agrifood system.

During his visit, the Director-General also met with His Excellency Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, during which they briefly discussed the various challenges impacting on Armenia’s agrifood system and how best to address them through the ongoing collaboration.