At its September 11 meeting, the Armenian government decided to allocate 93.5 million drams from its reserve fund to cover the expenses of high-level representatives from 74 least developed countries and small island developing states traveling to Yerevan for COP-17.
The justification for the decision says that under an agreement signed in New York in 2025 between the government of Armenia and the secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the host side is required to finance the participation costs of senior representatives from those countries.
The funding relates to the high-level segment of COP-17, which is scheduled to take place in Yerevan on October 27-28, 2026. The plan is to cover the participation of one high-level delegate at ministerial level from each of the countries concerned.
The expenses include airfare and business travel costs for a stay in Yerevan of up to three days. The travel allowance calculation is based on the UN daily subsistence allowance circular published in July 2026, which sets one night in Yerevan at $213.
The average airfare for one delegate was calculated at $2,500 in dram equivalent. To reduce risks linked to exchange-rate fluctuations or deviations from the average ticket price, the estimate also includes a 10% contingency margin.
The calculation was prepared by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia using the average US dollar exchange rate set on July 27, 2026, at 365.87 drams.
