Disputed prices for conference gifts, advertising contracts and venue arrangements have fuelled scrutiny of Armenia’s COP17 preparations, with officials promising a full financial account after the summit.
Armenia’s government has defended its spending on preparations for the upcoming UN biodiversity summit, COP17, as opposition lawmakers question procurement costs, contract awards and the transparency of public expenditure.
Deputy Environment Minister Ara Mkrtchyan said funds allocated for the conference had been used for their intended purposes, prudently and with proper justification. He also assured that all assets purchased for the event would remain the property of the Republic of Armenia and be available for future use.
Speaking to state news agency Armenpress, Mkrtchyan addressed mounting criticism over the financial and logistical arrangements for the summit, scheduled to take place in Yerevan from October 19 to 30. The Environment Ministry published his remarks on Thursday.
The controversy intensified after lawmakers from the opposition Strong Armenia parliamentary faction raised allegations of inflated procurement prices, questionable contract awards and insufficient disclosure of public spending.
Opposition lawmaker Lianna Manukyan told parliament on October 12 that the government had spent approximately 290 million Armenian drams on branded conference gifts, claiming that comparable products could have been purchased at considerably lower prices.
Based on her preliminary market assessment, Manukyan estimated that the government could have saved nearly 85 million drams.
She alleged that 19,700 conference badge lanyards had been purchased for 1,248 drams each, although her market research suggested comparable products were available for as little as 55 drams. She also questioned the purchase of 16,500 thermoses at 7,800 drams each and branded environmentally friendly bags at 3,432 drams per unit.
However, the comparisons were based on the lawmaker’s research, and it remains unclear whether the products she examined had specifications, branding requirements and associated services equivalent to those in the government contracts.
Manukyan also questioned a contract that reportedly allocated nearly 25,000 drams for each of 400 packaging items, alongside a separate provision of 19 million drams for unforeseen expenses.
She argued that the contracted prices should already account for logistics, labour and other associated costs, and called for a clearer explanation of the additional expenditure.
Another opposition lawmaker, Lena Matevosyan, questioned three advertising contracts worth a combined 452 million drams, alleging that they had been awarded to the same company without a competitive tender.
She claimed the contracts contained overlapping responsibilities and similar staffing arrangements, raising questions about whether the services could have been delivered under a single agreement at a lower cost.
According to Matevosyan, the contracts were awarded to Doping Space, a company also reportedly engaged to provide other conference-related services.
Fellow opposition lawmaker Hasmik Yengoyan alleged that Doping Space had secured at least 10 contracts covering services ranging from advertising and furniture supply to communications, camera installation and transportation.
She questioned the company’s selection across several service categories and demanded greater transparency over the criteria used to award the contracts.
Yengoyan also raised concerns about financing arrangements involving Meridian Holding, saying funding linked to the company for conference preparations approached 11 billion drams.
She maintained that the publicly available documents did not provide a sufficiently detailed breakdown of expenditure to assess the costs.
The opposition faction said it would seek full procurement agreements and supporting documents from the Environment Ministry.
The allegations have not been independently established, and the disputed figures represent different categories of expenditure that should not be added together.
Responding to the criticism, Armenia’s Environment Ministry said in a statement published on October 13 that the government had initially earmarked 18.5 billion drams from its 2026 state budget reserve fund for COP17 organisational services.
The ministry maintained that procurement arrangements were governed by the technical, logistical and security requirements established for major UN conferences.
It acknowledged that a government decision adopted in August 2025 permitted single-source procurement for specialised conference services but said a public prequalification process had nevertheless been organised to ensure transparency and competition.
According to the ministry, 12 organisations initially applied, including two foreign companies. Ten met the eligibility requirements, and their applications were forwarded to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity for further evaluation.
Mkrtchyan said UN experts subsequently assessed the eligible applicants and selected two organisations to provide services for the conference’s Blue and Green Zones.
He rejected suggestions that the principal conference organisers had been selected without an assessment process, maintaining that the procedures complied with applicable regulations and international requirements.
However, the government’s explanation of the selection process did not establish whether the individual contracts questioned by opposition lawmakers, including those for advertising and equipment, had undergone separate competitive tendering.
Addressing allegations of inflated prices, Mkrtchyan argued that comparisons with ordinary retail prices failed to account for the scale, complexity and tight deadlines involved in organising a major international conference.
He said procurement costs reflected not only the price of goods but also transportation, installation, staffing, maintenance and other services required to meet UN standards.
The deputy minister also defended the arrangements involving the privately owned Meridian Expo Centre, explaining that the government had rented the venue for the whole of 2026 rather than directly undertaking reconstruction or renovation works.
Under the agreement, Armenia secured the right to use the venue for an additional 400 days over the eight years following COP17, allowing the infrastructure to support future activities.
Mkrtchyan clarified that equipment and other assets purchased for the conference would remain government property, while the Meridian Expo Centre itself would remain privately owned.
He said it was too early to establish the final cost of hosting the summit because preparations and related expenditure were continuing. A comprehensive financial account would be presented later.
Despite the controversy, Mkrtchyan expressed hope that hosting COP17 would help Armenia address domestic environmental challenges, strengthen its international standing and generate lasting economic and diplomatic benefits.
He also anticipated that spending by international visitors would support local businesses and generate tax revenue.
Armenia’s National Assembly ratified the agreement covering the organisation of COP17 on October 12, with 68 lawmakers voting in favour, 18 against and three abstaining.
Opposition lawmakers stressed that they supported Armenia’s hosting of major international conferences but opposed what they described as unjustified expenditure and insufficient transparency in the use of public resources.
Although the government maintains that procurement procedures complied with applicable regulations and UN requirements, questions remain over individual contract prices and the availability of detailed expenditure records.
Opposition lawmakers have sought greater disclosure of procurement agreements, while officials say a comprehensive financial account will be presented after the conference.
Scheduled for October 19 to 30 in Yerevan, COP17 will bring together governments, international organisations, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and civil society representatives to assess progress towards global biodiversity targets.
The conference will conduct the first global review of collective progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which seeks to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.