On November 16, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia the official signing ceremony of the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Solar Alliance by Armenia was held.

The signing ceremony was attended by Gnel Sanosyan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia and the Ambassadors of co-founding countries of the International Solar Alliance - Ambassador of France Olivier Decottignies and Ambassador of India Nilakshi Saha Sinha.

The Agreement was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan, and the signed original copies were officially handed over to Nilakshi Saha Sinha, Ambassador of India - the Depositary State of the Agreement. The Agreement will then undergo an internal ratification process and enter into force on the thirtieth day following the handover of the instrument of ratification by Armenia to the Depositary.

Armenia's accession to the International Solar Alliance is an important step towards combating climate change, developing renewable and green energy resources, ensuring energy access and energy security.

Informative Note:

The International Solar Alliance was established through the joint efforts of India and France towards working together to combat climate change and harness solar energy resources. The concept of the Alliance was developed in 2015 within the framework of the 21st Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) held in Paris. In 2020 The Alliance made changes to the Framework Agreement, according to which all UN member states have the opportunity to join the Alliance. Currently, 116 states have signed the Framework Agreement of the Alliance, 94 of which have submitted the necessary ratification documents to become full members of the Alliance. The decision-making body of the Alliance is the Assembly, convened once a year at the level of relevant ministers from the member states. The Alliance is headquartered in India.

Renewable energy is one of the most important directions of the development of the energy system in Armenia, where solar energy has developed particularly well during recent years. Today, more than 5 percent of the total electricity produced comes from solar plants; the strategic program on energy development foresees by 2030 to increase the share of solar energy in the total to 15 percent.