The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister Gayane Gabrielyan and heads of professional departments of the Ministry.
Greeting Ms. Geghinat and colleagues at the Ministry of Environment, Minister Hakob Simidyan mentioned the cooperation programs of the Ministry of Environment and the World Bank, and expressed hope that this meeting on a busy agenda will become an incentive for further development of bilateral relations and new opportunities for cooperation will be developed.
Ms. Karolin Geginat thanked the Minister for the reception and asked the Minister to briefly present the priorities of the Ministry of the Environment and the legislative reforms in progress.
The Minister presented priorities for the maintenance of the environmental agenda, on which the involvement and assistance of the World Bank is desirable.
The Minister touched upon large-scale tasks in the field of forests, water resources, and subsoil use.
The legislative reforms that have begun in the sphere were discussed, including the amendments to the law "On Environmental Impact Assessment and Expertise".
"The agenda of legislative reforms in the sphere should proceed from our reality, and new legislative projects should be holistic and inclusive, so that after a while there would be no need to revise them. At the same time, it is necessary to change not only the content of the laws, but also the environment in which they will find their application," the minister noted and said that the ministry is ready to involve international experts in the process of drafting the EIA law as well.
Deputy Minister Gayane Gabrielyan spoke with international partners about intensive sectoral cooperation, reforms in the field of water, land, waste management and sustainable environmental public procurement.
The Deputy Minister asked his colleagues to discuss each of them in more detail in the format of narrower working meetings and to consider the possibilities of cooperation in the field of World Bank activities.
During the meeting, the sides also touched upon the program for the "green Armenia" platform ("green recovery for strengthening, arming and care"), which is being funded by the Climate Assistance Fund.
Moreover, the Green Armenia platform will become a space for the formation of new ideas, stimulating technological opportunities and mastering global knowledge. These works will be key to helping Armenia conserve forest resources, which is very important for fulfilling the country's international obligations to mitigate and adapt to climate change, "building a better future", creating the possibility of continuous and sustainable recovery in the country.
The GEF 8 program (GEF-8) was discussed, within the framework of the new replenishment phase of which it is expected to expand cooperation with the World Bank.
At the end of the meeting, Minister Hakob Simidyan once again expressed readiness to expand cooperation and stressed that reforms in this area should be carried out within the logic of friendly and effective cooperation with international partners.