On May 17, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres. Sargsyan expressed gratitude for his participation in the international donor organizations' conference. “This large conference is being organized due to the fact that the issue of refugees is still one of the most serious issues on the government’s agenda. Compared to other countries, Armenia is among the top countries with the number of refugees for every 1,000th resident. I am certain that your participation in today’s donor organizations’ conference will help us be able to find efficient ways of solving those problems.” The UN High Commissioner for Refugees expressed content with the cooperation with the Armenian government and mentioned that the aim of his visit was to prove the international solidarity. He highly appreciated the Armenian government’s efforts for refugee integration. Informing about his visits to refugee families and awareness of the heavy conditions, Mr. Guterres also expressed hope that the cooperation with the government would help solve the current issues, particularly the issues related to the refugees’ status and shelter. T. Sargsyan presented the measures that the Armenian government has already taken for solving the refugees’ issues and ensuring their fundamental rights. He particularly touched upon the steps taken to ensure them with dwellings and contribute to their integration. During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed co-funding for the program to provide refugees with dwellings and the perspectives of cooperation with international donor organizations. The sides also touched upon the UN Office for Refugees’ assistance to refugees in Nagorno-Karabakh. Expressing gratitude for the UN’s support to Armenia, T. Sargsyan highly appreciated the role of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN High Commissioner in solving the issue of refugees and internally displaced persons. The Prime Minister and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees participated in the international conference on “Co-Funding and Possible Cooperation with Donor Organizations for the Primary Program to Provide Dwellings for Persons Deported from Azerbaijan and Established in Armenia in 1988-1992”. In his speech, Tigran Sargsyan particularly mentioned: “There are still many refugees who don’t have a place to call home. There is much poverty and the level of unemployment is two to three times higher. It is not by chance that the Armenian government selected refugees as a separate target group in its Poverty Reduction Strategy. The government has always kept and continues to keep the issue of providing refugees with homes in the center of its attention.” The RA Prime Minister underlined the importance of the international community’s adequate response to issues concerning refugees. “The recent political tension in different regions, armed conflicts and natural disasters are leading to new flows of refugees. The international community’s focus on the needs of people in new homes is natural. We expect the international community to keep an eye on the key issues that emerged earlier and one of them is the issue of refugees in Armenia,” said the RA Prime Minister.

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