Armenia presented the second National Voluntary Assessment Report on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

2020 Armenia presented the second National Voluntary Assessment Report on the Implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (the first report was presented in July 2018) during the High Level Online Political Forum under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council on July 10.

Mher Margaryan, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations, chaired the High Level Political Forum on July 10 as a Vice President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The RA evaluation report was presented in the format of a pre-shot video. It reflected the steps taken towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Armenia since 2018, the achievements of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the existing challenges and innovative solutions to overcome them. Reference was also made to the situation in the country following the spread of the coronavirus and the measures taken by the Government to neutralize the consequences.

In the video, the chairman of the RA Council for Sustainable Development Goals, RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan delivered a message, in which he particularly noted.

“Armenia is honored to present the second National Voluntary Assessment Report, which is the result of the joint efforts of the Government, the UN Office in Armenia and civil society. The Republic of Armenia is fully committed to implementing the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. The SDGs and their targets are universal values; all countries, peoples and the entire planet benefit from their implementation. On behalf of the Government of Armenia, I would like to emphasize our efforts in national development planning. Over the past two years, a new package of sectoral and cross-sectoral strategies has been developed, which includes more than two dozen areas. At the same time, the government is developing the “Armenia Transformation Strategy 2050″, which consists of 16 mega-goals with their goals, indicators, problems and solutions, which include almost all SDGs. ”

The report was followed by a Q&A. RA Deputy Foreign Minister Artak Apitonyan answered the questions.

Touching upon the issue of increasing energy efficiency by the Egyptian representative, Artak Apitonyan singled out the 13th goal of “Armenia’s Transformation Strategy 2050”, which is aimed at providing access to renewable energy sources in Armenia for the general public, which in turn will promote Implementation of the 7th, 13th  15th SDGs.

Touching upon the steps taken by the Mexican representative to increase the role of women in the social and political life of Armenia, the RA Deputy Foreign Minister noted that after the early parliamentary elections in December 2018, the number of women deputies in the RA National Assembly increased to 24%. Deputy Minister Apitonyan also referred to the strategies adopted in the field of protection of women’s rights in Armenia, the laws, the steps taken by the Republic of Armenia in the fight against domestic violence.

Answering the question raised by the representative of Kyrgyzstan on the fight against corruption, the RA Deputy Foreign Minister noted that one of the primary goals of the RA Government after the velvet, non-violent, popular revolution in Armenia in 2018 is to fight corruption, strengthen the rule of law and improve the judicial system. The Deputy Minister presented the steps taken by the RA Government in the mentioned directions.

During the question-and-answer session, the Russian representative inquired about the experience of using high technologies in the traditional spheres of the Armenian economy. Deputy Foreign Minister Apitonyan singled out the programs for the use of high technologies in the field of agriculture, the introduction of digital agriculture, which are reflected in the 2020-2030 Agricultural Development Strategy.

Full text in Armenian