Armenia’s Ambassador to UN Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. (Source: Public Radio of Armenia)

UNITED NATIONS (Public Radio of Armenia) — On 11 January, Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Zohrab Mnatsakanyan was elected President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme’s  (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Office for Project Service (UNOPS), for a one-year term.

The Executive Board is made up of representatives of Member States and is mandated by the UN General Assembly to provide inter-governmental support to and overall supervision of the activities of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS. The Board meets three times a year ensuring that the three Agencies remain responsive to the evolving needs of the program.

“2016 will be a pivotal time for our Board and sister-agencies in light of the recent adoption of the new set of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The year will also be critical in view of the mid-term review of the strategic plans for 2014-2017, as well as the upcoming discussions of the new cycle of Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review, which remains the main political mechanism for member states to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and impact of the UN development system’s support to national development efforts,” stated Ambassador Mnatsakanyan in his acceptance remarks.

Armenia is a member of the Executive Board of the UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS since 2014. In June 2015, the Board approved the UNDP’s and UNFPA’s country program documents for Armenia for the period of 2016-2020.