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On June 25, the RA NA President Ara Babloyan received the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction  and Assistant Secretary-General Mami Mizutori, the UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Shombi Sharp and the European Regional Head for the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Office Paola Albrito, who visited Armenia to take part in the parliamentary hearings on the theme Disaster Resilience Strengthening and Development initiated by the NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security.

Welcoming the guests, the RA NA President Ara Babloyan highly assessed the cooperation of Armenia with the UN in different spheres, expressing conviction that the parliamentary hearings would be a new impetus for boosting cooperation. The Head of the RA Parliament underlined the steps being taken in our country in the sphere of disaster risk reduction and governance, emphasizing the role of the parliamentary hearings organized by the NA Standing Committee. To the NA President’s assessment, it is a favorable platform for raising the problems of the sphere and for the study of the international experience and effective use.

Shombi Sharp has underlined that the UN effectively cooperates with the Armenian parliament and government in a number of spheres, including the disaster risk reduction issue.

In Mami Mizutori’s word, the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Office closely cooperates with the legislators and evaluates the participation of the parliament in the solution of the problems of the sphere. It has been noted that next year it is designed to hold the conference Global Platform for Disaster Reduction in Geneva.

In the course of the meeting the manifestation of the strategic and coordinated approaches directed to disaster risk reduction, the implementation of the parliamentary oversight and the continuous improvement of the legislation was highlighted.