President Vahagn Khachaturyan’s working visit to the Kingdom of Spain

Within the framework of his working visit to the Kingdom of Spain, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan participated in the official opening ceremony of the UN International Conference on Financing for Development.

At the conference, the President will deliver a speech. 

***

Within the framework of his official visit to the Kingdom of Spain, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan delivered a speech in the UN International Conference on Financing for Development.

At the outset, I would like to express my gratitude to the Government of Spain for hosting this important international event and for its generous hospitality.

In these turbulent times, when the world is grappling with unprecedented challenges, it is more than ever necessary to joint our efforts and demonstrate solidarity and strong political will to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

10 years ago, building on the commitments achieved in Monterrey and Doha, we adopted the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, an ambitious and overarching document, shaping a set of guidelines and concrete tools to reform the global financing system with the aim of leaving no one behind. However, despite significant achievements, we still face more questions than answers.

Global challenges that have emerged in recent years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the increasing impact of climate change, rising geopolitical tensions, growing number of conflicts, have revealed serious gaps in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, requiring immediate actions to further advance the reform of the international financial architecture and adapt it to new realities. The decline in official development assistance has had devastating consequences for developing countries, threatening to reverse their hard-won progress.

The worrying trends in the global development agenda have a particularly severe impact on countries in special situations: least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and Small Island developing states, whose systemic vulnerabilities hinder the efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

The situation is also difficult for the middle-income countries, often finding themselves in the middle-income trap, due to the shortcomings of the current international financial system.

Take my country as an example. Armenia is classified as an upper-middle income country. At the same time, Armenia is a landlocked developing country, facing multidimensional challenges, such as the influx of 115,000 refugees forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, making up 4 percent of the country's total population, the reoccurring disasters caused by climate change, difficulties with access to global markets and value chains. However, Armenia is forced to focus its limited resources on servicing its national debt exceeding $13 billion, rather than investing in humanitarian, climate mitigation and sustainable development needs.

In this context, we believe that targeted and action-oriented steps are essential to overcome current inequalities and systematic gaps in the international financial architecture. Armenia strongly advocates the introduction of complementary criteria beyond GDP, reducing dependence on earmarked financing and strengthening the capacities of the United Nations Development System for a timely and efficient response to the needs of countries and people in vulnerable situations.

Support from international community to strengthen democratic institutions, promote good governance, ensure transparency and uphold the rule of law is important to bring countries in special situations and middle-income countries back on track towards sustainable development. It is crucial to ensure equal and fair access to new technologies, close the digital divide and mobilize the necessary resources to address climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification. As the host of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity next year, Armenia is ready to work closely with all partners to fill the gaps in biodiversity financing.

Armenia welcomes the consensus over the Outcome document, which signals the readiness of all parties to work together to turn the promises and commitments into real actions to bring transformative changes on the ground.

We hope that the Compromiso de Sevilla, with its forward-looking commitments, will provide new impetus to the efforts of international community to reform the international financial architecture, enhance its resilience and effectiveness and make financial resources more accessible and affordable for the most vulnerable.

I wish the participants fruitful and result-oriented deliberations.

***

Within the framework of his working visit to the Kingdom of Spain, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with President of Angola João Lourenço.

During the meeting, the sides discussed ways and opportunities for developing cooperation in areas of mutual interest between the two countries. They addressed the potential for collaboration in the fields of information and high technologies, mining, diamond processing, and related sectors.

President Lourenço expressed his willingness to promote cooperation particularly in the field of diamond processing, noting that Armenia has well-established traditions in this sector, which possess great development potential.

The importance of the initiative to establish a TUMO Center in Angola was also highlighted, viewing it as an effective step toward deepening sectoral cooperation.

The sides also emphasized the necessity of promoting interdepartmental consultations as an effective mechanism for strengthening bilateral relations and coordinating programmatic cooperation.

***

President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with the President of the Republic of Kenya, Dr. William Ruto, within the framework of the 4-th UN International Conference on Financing for Development.

During the meeting, the sides addressed the prospects for developing bilateral relations. They discussed ways for expanding cooperation in the fields of economy, environment, and within international organizations. The importance of maintaining continuous dialogue and exchanging views on international and regional issues was emphasized.

Special attention was given to the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), which will be held in Armenia in 2026. The presidents highlighted the significance of such conferences in the context of the global environmental agenda.

President Khachaturyan also noted that he would be pleased to welcome his Kenyan counterpart in Yerevan within the framework of the upcoming conference. In turn, the President of Kenya invited the President of Armenia to visit Kenya at a convenient time and proposed considering the possibility of establishing an embassy as part of further promoting bilateral cooperation.

***

Within the framework of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development organized by the United Nations, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan had a conversation with President of France Emmanuel Macron.

The Presidents discussed the general regional situation and ongoing developments.

They exchanged views on key issues on the bilateral cooperation agenda.

***

Within the framework of the UN Conference on Financing for Development, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), John Denton. The meeting was also attended by Hayk Margaryan, Executive Board Member of ICC Armenia and Chair of the Trade and Investment Commission.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the world’s largest business organization, representing more than 45 million companies in over 170 countries. Since 1919, the ICC has been promoting international trade, responsible business conduct, and global regulations through advocacy, rule-setting, and dispute resolution.

During the meeting, issues related to Armenia’s business environment were discussed. The President particularly addressed topics such as attracting investment to Armenia, developing trade, and standardization. He also presented the Armenian Government’s “Crossroads of Peace” initiative.

During the conversation, John Denton emphasized his readiness to provide possible support in the organization and hosting of the upcoming COP17 UN Biodiversity Conference to be held in Armenia.

***

Within the framework of his working visit to the city of Seville, Spain, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with representatives of the local Armenian community.

During the meeting, the President presented the main priorities of Armenia’s domestic and foreign policy, addressed the current socio-political situation in the country, the reforms implemented in various sectors in recent years, as well as the existing challenges and the steps being taken to resolve them.

President Khachaturyan answered questions raised by the attendees, engaging in an open and direct discussion on several key issues related to the organization of community life. He emphasized that the Armenian authorities highly value the potential of the Diaspora and its role in the development of the homeland, expressing readiness to support, within available means, initiatives aimed at strengthening the community’s educational and cultural life and overcoming existing obstacles.

***

Within the framework of his working visit to the Kingdom of Spain, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan visited the Airbus aerospace company.

During the visit, the President held a meeting with the company’s executive team.

At the meeting, Miguel Poule Torres, the manager at Airbus, presented the main directions and sectors of the company’s operations. The discussion touched upon opportunities for cooperation between the major aerospace corporation and Armenia in areas of mutual interest, as well as the potential for realizing existing opportunities.

At the end of the meeting, the President, accompanied by Miguel Poule Torres and Lieutenant General César Simón, Senior Advisor on Military Affairs to the President of Airbus, toured the facility and familiarized himself with the company’s achievements and latest initiatives.

The President’s working visit to the Kingdom of Spain has concluded.