Statement delivered by H.E. Ambassador Armen Papikyan, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia at the 66th Session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS)

02 June, 2023

Statement delivered by H.E. Ambassador Armen Papikyan, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia at the
66^th Session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS)

Mr. Chairman,

I would like to start by reiterating my delegation’s full support to you in conduct of this session.

We also would like to express our gratitude to Ambassador Juan Francisco Facetti of Paraguay and Ms. Nomfuneko Majaja of South Africa, for their skillful leadership and steering of the work of the Scientific and Technical and Legal Subcommittees respectively.

We express our deep appreciation to the Acting Director Niklas Hedman and his team for the excellent preparation of this session.

Mr. Chairman,

The Committee on the Peaceful uses of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees constitute a unique platform for further developing and strengthening of the international legal framework for the peaceful uses of outer space, governance of outer space activities, promoting international cooperation as well as capacity building in space science and technology.

Armenia joins other delegations in welcoming Guatemala and Uzbekistan as the new members of the Committee. The steadily growing membership of the Committee is a sign of the increasing significance of outer space.

Armenia has signed and ratified all five UN outer space treaties and consider them as the cornerstone of the legal regime governing the peaceful uses of outer space. We firmly believe that any outer space activity shall be carried out exclusively for peaceful purposes and according to the principles of non-appropriation of space by any one country, universal and non-discriminatory access to outer space for all states, the sustainable and responsible exploration of space resources, while ensuring the prevention of harmful interference with the Earth’s environment.

We support the Working Group on Long-term sustainability of Outer Space activities and highlight the importance of implementation of the relevant guiding principles. We believe that international cooperation and sharing the best practice in implementation of LTS guidelines will facilitate progress in this regard.

We look forward to continuing deliberations on issues related to responsible exploration of space resources within the framework of the Working Group on legal aspects of space resource activities, guided by the principle of ensuring equal access and opportunities for all states, as well as the preservation of outer space as the common heritage of humankind.

Mr. Chairman,

The launch of the first Armenian satellite bolstered significant interest in Armenia towards space research and space technologies. Currently a number of research teams are conducting diverse studies, including development of an educational CubeSat, use of space-based technologies for remote environmental observation and monitoring environmental pollution, as well as land use and management.

Armenia continued working on further development of an enabling national environment for space related sector. We plan to review our national legal regulatory framework in order to identify its deficiencies and to also improve it in line with the LTS guidelines.

The first National Space Strategy, which is envisaged to be adopted by the end of this year, will define the strategic direction of future efforts of Armenia in the domain of space.

We attach particular importance to developing effective national capacities for using the space-based information and satellites observation data in the area of disaster management and mitigation of climate change impact.

We consider the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) as an important framework, where the application of space technologies could help national authorities in their disaster risk reduction and disaster management efforts.

In June-July 2022, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia hosted the Technical Advisory Mission of UN-SPIDER. We would like to express our appreciation to UN-SPIDER and the TAM team for their efforts. We take note of the report of the Mission and recommendations contained therein and look forward to continue our cooperation and partnership with UNOOSA in this area.

Mr. Chairman,

The increasing importance of outer space is reflected in the growing use of space-based technologies and steadily expanding space economy and industry. Many developments in this domain are driven by private initiatives, scientific and research institutions.

At the same time, the rapid technological development may lead to a widening technological divide. Therefore, an improved access to space-based technologies and applications is becoming vital for developing countries.

In this respect, the “Access to space for all” initiative is a unique framework for raising awareness about the possible uses of space technologies. Access to, sharing, and use of space data, space-based technologies and related knowledge could help national research institutions and diverse stakeholders to contribute to the mitigation of current challenges.

We believe that enhancing space-derived economic benefits, promoting the development of space industry, facilitating the integration of the space sector with other sectors such as energy, public health, environment, as well as using the potential of space to solve today's challenges, including climate change, and leveraging space-related innovations to improve the quality of life will bring us closer to realizing the sustainable development goals and reaching the targets of the 2030 Agenda.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, we once again would like to reiterate Armenia’s support to you and look forward to a fruitful session.

Thank you.

MFA RA
official website

Dual citizenship

Electronic visa

Visa applications