Category: News

Additional contributions pledged for the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) new funding cycle total US$500 million, bringing overall funding to US$4.4 billion. Armenia has also begun preliminary discussions on the possibility of contributing to the facility.

GEF Chief Executive Officer Diego Mesa Puyo announced this during COP17, explaining that the facility operates through four-year funding cycles, with donors providing resources for the following four years.

He said preparations for the new funding round were already under way. Initial pledges totalling US$3.9 billion had been announced in June at the GEF conference in Uzbekistan.

“Since then, additional pledges have totalled US$500 million, bringing overall funding from US$3.9 billion to US$4.4 billion,” Mesa Puyo said.

He said additional resources had also been pledged for the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), established to support biodiversity conservation projects. A further US$60 million in contributions had been announced for the fund.

Mesa Puyo noted that Berlin was contributing to the GBFF for the first time. This followed a contribution from the Canadian province of Quebec, the first subnational entity to support the fund.

“New contributors also include Iceland and Monaco, while Quebec has announced its intention to make another contribution. Spain has pledged €50 million to the GEF’s main trust fund. Uzbekistan is also contributing to the facility for the first time, with around US$4.6 million.

“The United Kingdom has reaffirmed its financial support, committing an additional £330 million, equivalent to around US$400 million. This amount was not included in the initial pledges announced in June. Together, these contributions make up the additional US$500 million announced today,” the GEF Chief Executive Officer said.

He said the facility’s funding was important both for its direct investments and for attracting additional public and private resources.

Mesa Puyo said that during the 2022–2026 funding cycle, every dollar invested by the facility had helped mobilise around US$8 in additional financing. Blended finance, which combines concessional and commercial financing, had also proved effective, attracting around US$18.50 for every dollar invested.

The Chief Executive Officer said efforts to mobilise additional resources would continue during the new funding cycle. A pledging event is also planned in Türkiye during the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

He described the US$4.4 billion already pledged as the facility’s second-largest funding cycle in the past 30 years, calling it a positive result.

Turning to Armenia’s possible participation, Mesa Puyo said the country had also begun preliminary discussions on contributing to the facility.

“Armenia has announced that it has already begun preliminary discussions with a view to making a contribution. We do not yet have a specific figure for the contribution, but Armenia has publicly stated that the matter is being discussed domestically,” he said.

Armenia’s Greco-Roman wrestling team members continue their campaign at the World Wrestling Championships.

On the latest day of competition at the World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, wrestlers in the 63 kg, 67 kg and 87 kg weight categories took to the mat.

Slavik Galstyan, competing in the 67 kg category, defeated Gagik Snjoyan of France 5–1 in his opening bout.

In the 63 kg category, Karen Aslanyan faced Corneliu Rusu of Moldova in his first bout of the tournament. Aslanyan secured a quick 10–0 victory in about two minutes.

Armenian wrestlers Karen Aslanyan and Slavik Galstyan have advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Championships.

At the Greco-Roman wrestling World Championships in Astana, Karen Aslanyan secured his second victory in the 63 kg weight class, defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Aftandil Taalaibek Uulu 10–0.

Slavik Galstyan, competing in the 67 kg weight class, also won his second bout, defeating Moldova’s Valentin Petic 10–0.

Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Slavik Galstyan has advanced to the semifinals of the World Championships.

Galstyan faced Norway’s Haavard Joergensen in the quarterfinals of the 67 kg weight category at the Greco-Roman Wrestling World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, and won 3–2.

In the 63 kg weight category, Karen Aslanyan defeated Uzbekistan’s Ozodbek Khalimboev 9–0 and will compete for a place in the final.

Armenia’s Gevorg Tadevosyan has become the third member of the national Greco-Roman wrestling team to advance to the semifinals of the World Wrestling Championships.

Tadevosyan defeated Norway’s Exauce Mukubu 10-4 in the quarterfinals of the 87 kg weight class at the World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Earlier, Slavik Galstyan and Karen Aslanyan had also advanced to the semifinals.

Armenia’s Karen Aslanyan has advanced to the final of the 63 kg Greco-Roman event at the World Wrestling Championships.

Aslanyan defeated Edmond Nazaryan of Bulgaria, the son of Armenian Olympic champion Armen Nazaryan, 12–4 in the semifinals in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Gevorg Tadevosyan, competing in the 87 kg category, lost 10–1 to Iran’s Alireza Azizkhoon Mohmadipiani in the semifinals and will compete for the bronze medal.

In the 67 kg category, Slavik Galstyan lost 4–0 to Uzbekistan’s Aytjan Khalmakhanov and will also compete for the bronze medal.

The leadership of the Armenian Weightlifting Federation participated in the 2026 Ordinary Congress of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

“The President of the Armenian Weightlifting Federation, Arayik Harutyunyan, and Secretary General Samvel Gasparyan participated in the International Weightlifting Federation’s Ordinary Congress, which was held in Ningbo, China, where the World Championships will begin in a few days. Among the issues discussed were matters related to the 2027 World Weightlifting Championships, which will be held in Yerevan,” the Armenian Weightlifting Federation said in a statement.

The 2026 World Weightlifting Championships will be held in Ningbo, China, from October 27 to November 8.

Information on the taxes and fees paid by Armenia’s 1,000 largest corporate taxpayers during the first nine months of 2026 has been published on the official website of the State Revenue Committee.

According to the data, the 1,000 largest taxpayers paid a total of AMD 1 trillion 638 billion (approximately $4.54 billion) to the state budget in January-September 2026, exceeding the figure for the same period last year by AMD 199 billion.

The figure for the same period last year was AMD 1 trillion 439 billion.

Payments made to the tax authorities amounted to AMD 1 trillion 367 billion, up AMD 188 billion from the same period last year.

Payments made to the customs authorities amounted to AMD 271 billion, up AMD 10 billion from the same period last year.

Mobile Centre tops the list of the 1,000 largest taxpayers, followed by the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine and Grand Tobacco in second and third place, respectively. Gazprom Armenia ranks fourth, followed by Ardshinbank, Ameriabank, Soft Construct, Digitain, Philip Morris Armenia, and International Masis Tabak in fifth through tenth place, respectively.

As a result of changes to the annual income declaration system for individuals, the process of completing declarations has been simplified, the amount of information automatically pre-filled in declarations has been expanded, and categories of non-taxable income that citizens may omit from their declarations have been established.

The State Revenue Committee of Armenia said that adult Armenian citizens who are residents of Armenia are required to file declarations for the 2025 reporting year.

Under the changes, citizens may omit certain non-taxable income totaling up to AMD 1 million from their declarations. This includes loans received from individuals, gifts, income from the sale of property, and other income.

To simplify the process, information available to the tax authorities is automatically pre-filled in the system. With the citizen’s consent, interest earned on bank deposits may also be pre-filled. A mechanism is also in place for the automatic submission of pre-filled declarations: if a declaration is neither amended nor submitted by the established deadline, it is deemed submitted after the deadline has passed. Declarations may also be filed through an authorized representative without notarization of the power of attorney.

The deadline for filing declarations for the 2025 reporting year is November 1, 2026. However, under the Law on Normative Legal Acts, if the last day of a deadline falls on a non-working day, the deadline expires on the next working day. In this case, the deadline is November 2. For subsequent reporting years, declarations must be filed between March 2 and July 1, inclusive.

“It is important to emphasize that the introduction of the declaration system does not entail the imposition of new tax obligations. Rather, its purpose is to build a comprehensive picture of citizens’ income to enable more targeted policymaking in social and other areas. In addition, a unified electronic services platform for individuals is planned for the future. It will bring together declaration filing, income tax refunds, tax payments, and other services, providing citizens with a simpler and more convenient digital environment,” the SRC said in a statement.

The proposed new passports are not comparable in terms of content and functionality with the passports currently issued for AMD 1,000, Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan has said, commenting on the cost of biometric documents.

According to Sargsyan, the comparison should instead be made with the biometric passports previously issued for AMD 25,000.

“Previously issued biometric passports could not be used with automated e-gate systems at foreign border checkpoints because the information exchange process through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is necessary to verify the authenticity of passport data in other countries, had not been implemented,” she said.

According to Sargsyan, the new biometric system will ensure a high level of security, significantly reduce the likelihood of document forgery and enable citizens to use digital services and, after some time, e-gate systems as well.

The minister emphasized that introducing the system is also an important component of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan.

Addressing the pricing, Sargsyan said the proposed price includes no profit for the state. It was determined through an open and transparent tender based on the private partner’s offer.

The other bidder also submitted a similar price offer, but the selected offer was lower.

Sargsyan reiterated that no mandatory deadline has been set for replacing existing passports with the new biometric documents. Citizens can continue using their current passports until they expire. Those who wish to do so may also apply for new biometric documents.

The minister also said information on packages planned for different social groups would be published soon.

Fourteen HayPass offices will begin operating on November 1, including two in Yerevan, at Yerevan Mall and Megamall shopping centers.

The locations of regional offices have also been made public, and the total number of offices is expected to reach 23 by March next year.

Sargsyan emphasized that the passport offices that will continue operating will also serve as consultation points. Citizens who encounter difficulties registering on the online platform or using the biometric system can visit these offices and receive assistance from staff.