The 4th Steering Committee Meeting of the EU4Sevan project was held on January 13th, 2020. The aim of this meeting was to discuss the further work to be carried out by all the stakeholders of this program and to summarize the progress made and results achieved in the past two years.

The meeting was opened by the Deputy Minister of Environment, Aram Meymaryan, who is also co-chair of the Committee, with a welcome speech. Deputy Minister Meymaryan thanked all the partners involved in the project for their hard work and dedication. He also spoke of the great importance of the EU4Sevan project in the improvement of the Lake Sevan ecosystem and the fact that it received special attention and funding from the European Union and the German Government. He further highlighted the challenges the program is currently facing and how the Prime Minister of Armenia had discussed it during his visit to the Ministry of Environment and pledged to ensure its uninterrupted process. 
Mr. Frank Hess, Head of Cooperation – European Union Delegation to Armenia and co-chair of the committee also welcomed all the participants and stressed the point mentioned by Mr. Meymaryan that the project is facing complex challenges, and there is a need to find solutions jointly. Mr. Konstantin Sokulskiy welcomed and thanked the participants. He thanked the Armenian Government, the EU, and the German Government for their financial support and guidance. Mr. Sokulskiy underlined, "The most critical thing for success is the quality of people in charge" and thanked the GIZ and UNDP teams for the implementation of this ambitious project.
The participants in the meeting also discussed the various activities that were completed in the past two years and their results. They shared their thoughts on how the project can be improved and how to further strengthen cooperation between the partners and stakeholders. The strategic issues related to Lake Sevan were discussed among which was the prioritization of the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. Currently, the project team has no objection from Veolia; however, they need more assurance and knowledge of Veolia's commitment to follow through with the project. The project team is committed to continuing the development of its wastewater treatment plant with the utmost confidence.
The implementation of the Eco Portal was among the strategic issues which were also highlighted during the meeting. To ensure the successful implementation of the Eco Portal, the project team developed a multi-stage strategy. In the first stage, extensive consultations at the ministry and other organizations were held, followed by a workshop to discuss the platform's institutional and technical specifications. The second stage focuses on the sharing mechanism, which is critical for sustainability. The EU4Sevan Project team strives to avoid the situation of similar data platforms being set up, only to be forgotten once the project ends. By implementing the EU4Sevan strategy, the project team aims to ensure the Eco Portal's continuity and effectiveness.
The meeting concluded with a comprehensive summary of the project's achievements, results, and consolidated strategic issues that require further discussion. It was noted that a meeting to address the strategic issues will take place in the EU4Sevan office during which partners will discuss what the project can do in the remaining 20 months to resolve all strategic issues. All participants agreed that the utmost priority is to complete the project on time, and, if feasible, to initiate a new phase of the project, which will involve further development of the already initiated activities and the utilization of new resources.