UNFPA Armenia Head of Office, Lusine Sargsyan and YSU Rector, Hovhannes Hovhannisyan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to align their efforts and resources in areas of mutual interest.

The agreement aims to establish a long-term partnership focused on advancing the sustainable development agenda, with particular emphasis on demographic resilience, youth empowerment, gender equality, data and research, and corporate social responsibility.

The collaboration will strengthen academic and institutional capacities in demographic resilience, enhance data management and population projection capabilities, and integrate UNFPA expertise. It also involves developing new courses, improving existing ones, incorporating distance learning modules, and providing continuous professional training for civil servants as part of YSU’s educational programmes.

Joint initiatives will include seminars, workshops, and conferences on demographic resilience, research findings, and international best practices in policy development. These activities aim to foster cooperation and promote knowledge exchange.

YSU Rector, Hovhannes Hovhannisyan highlighted the initiative as an important step towards implementing innovative educational and scientific research projects:

“As you know, we established the Center for Demographic Research, where we plan to conduct in-depth, comprehensive work across various fields. With UNFPA and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs as our key partners, this tripartite cooperation lays a solid foundation for impactful outcomes in the future.”

Lusine Sargsyan, UNFPA Armenia Head of Office, underscored the importance of the MoU:

“Signing this memorandum with YSU is both an honour and a responsibility. It marks the beginning of a promising collaboration with tremendous potential. It is vital for us to support the implementation of our programmes and for the state to fulfil its initiatives and improve people’s lives. We believe we can enhance this potential by offering meaningful support.”

Ms. Sargsyan also noted that this cooperation will help improve public services, as many specialists in this field are YSU graduates.

Through this partnership, students and researchers will gain opportunities to exchange knowledge, build professional networks, and contribute to areas of shared interest.