Acting Minister of Environment Romanos Petrosyan received officers of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): Marina Vardanyan, Natural Resource Management Portfolio Lead,  Environmental Officer for USAID  Armenia and ASPIRED Project Chief of Party Magda Avetisyan.
In attendance were Deputy Minister of Environment Anna Mazmanyan and Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Environment Ruzanna Grigoryan.
Addressing the guests, the Acting Minister thanked for the enormous work implemented and dedication to the sphere, remarkably emphasizing that there is an unrealized potential for cooperation: we must do our utmost to use it as effectively as possible.
The meeting took a note of approaches and decrees of the Ministry of Environment on the USAID/Armenia Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) Project- upgraded state water cadastre, the operation of the platform for online monitoring of the actual volumes of groundwater abstraction in the selected fisheries of Ararat valley and for online submission of applications of water use permits.
 It was made a reference to upcoming water resource-related projects and the status of works performed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the final phase of the project.
 “Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development” is a five-year, 10-month project, which aims to support sustainable water resource management and sustainable practices of water users in Ararat Valley through the use of scientific, technological and innovative initiatives. The ultimate  goal of the project is to reduce the rate of groundwater abstraction in Ararat Valley and ensure the sustainable rate of groundwater use. The budget of the project is 5.591.630 USD.
To achieve the aforementioned  goals, the ASPIRED project works in the following directions:
water resource data
technologies,
improving the legal framework, law enforcement mechanisms,
cooperation with stakeholders.
During the meeting an agreement was reached to take practical steps towards the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the bilateral format.