YEREVAN / ARKA. Ar- menia’s Ministry of Envi- ronment has issued clarifi- cations regarding the costs associated with hosting the 17th Conference of the Par- ties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in Yerevan. In response to statements made in the National Assem- bly of Armenia, the Ministry announced that 18.5 billion drams (over $50 million) has been preliminarily allocated from the state budget reserve fund for 2026 to procure or- ganizational services for the event. Selection of venues for COP17 According to the Minis- try, the sites for the confer- ence’s “Blue” and “Green” zones were selected based on assessments and require- ments provided by UN rep- resentatives. Throughout the year, UN representatives made multi- ple visits to Armenia to in- spect potential venues and outline requirements regard- ing technical equipment, in- frastructure, and security. The Ministry states that the selection and preparation of the venues were carried out in compliance with UN standards for hosting international conferences of this scale. Conference organization costs According to the Minis- try, 18.5 billion drams has been preliminarily allocat- ed from the 2026 state bud- get reserve fund to procure organizational services for COP17. The Ministry noted that procurement for the confer- ence is being conducted in accordance with UN stan- dards, adherence to which is mandatory for the host country. Selection of Orga- nizations to Host COP17 According to the Minis- try, a decision by the Gov- ernment of Armenia on Au- gust 21, 2025, authorized the procurement of specialized conference organization ser- vices from a single source. However, the Ministry reported that it had initiated a public pre-qualification process on its own accord to ensure competition and transparency in the selection. The relevant announcement was published on August 25, 2025, on the Ministry’s offi- cial platforms. According to the Min- istry, 12 organizations—in- cluding two foreign ones— submitted applications. Of these, 10 met the established requirements. The list of these organizations was for- warded to the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Bio- logical Diversity. The UN’s Role in Select- ing the Organizer The Ministry stated that after the list was submitted, the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity evaluated the can- didates without interference from the Armenian agency. To this end, a representa- tive from the Secretariat vis- ited Armenia, interviewed representatives from the or- ganizations, and evaluated their proposals. The Ministry stated that the selection of the service provider was not the re- sult of a unilateral decision by the agency and rejected claims that no selection pro- cess had taken place. T h e a g e n c y also urged that technical, orga- nizational, and security requirements established for international events of this scale be taken into account when assessing the costs of hosting the con- ference. Ratification of the COP17 Agree- ment On October 12, the National As- sembly of Armenia ratified the agree- ment to host COP17 and two other international meetings during an ex- traordinary session. Responding to a question about the total cost of hosting the conference, Robert Abisogomonyan, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, did not specify a final cost figure. According to him, the agreement stipulates that Armenia will transfer $2.166 million to the Conven- tion Secretariat for organizational work nine months prior to the start of the conference. About COP17 in Yerevan The 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) will take place in Yerevan from October 19 to 30, 2026, under the slogan “Acting for Nature.” A leaders’ summit is scheduled for October 16 in Yerevan, with the opening ceremony set for October 18; a high-level segment involving ministers will take place on October 27-28.
One of the conference’s key topics will be the first global assessment of collective progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022.
The document outlines 23 targets to be achieved by 2030, including the conservation of at least 30% of the planet’s land and marine areas.