YEREVAN, May 23. /ARKA/. Armenia and the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD) will review the framework of strategic cooperation. An agreement to hold scheduled annual consultations for this purpose in the summer of 2025 was reached on Friday at a meeting between Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan and AFD Regional Director for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Matthieu Vasseur.
As reported by the press service of the RA government, the interlocutors exchanged views on issues of mutual interest, including the construction of the Vedi reservoir and other ongoing projects.
The need to continue cooperation in the development of irrigation infrastructure and agriculture was emphasized. Particular attention was also paid to the details of the implementation of the new program “Integrated Development of Water Resources and Agriculture in Armenia”.
Khachatryan highly appreciated the role of AFD in the context of sustainable deepening of multi-sectoral cooperation between Armenia and France. He stressed the importance of both supporting the Armenian government’s reforms through budget assistance programs and effective cooperation in the field of infrastructure development.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Olivier Decottignies also participated in the meeting.
About Vedi Reservoir
The Vedi Reservoir with a capacity of 29.4 million cubic meters was built on the right bank of the Vedi River in the Ararat region of Armenia. The cost of the project amounted to 90 million euros, with more than 80% of the funding provided by the French Development Agency.
With the launch of the reservoir, uninterrupted irrigation of about 3,220 hectares of land with 5,000 beneficiaries was ensured. By switching from mechanical irrigation to gravity irrigation, approximately 19 million kWh of electricity will be saved per year, and the need to take water from Lake Sevan for irrigation purposes will be reduced by 18 million cubic meters.
