Minister Oskanian received Ms. Lise Grande, the newly-appointed UNDP Resident Coordinator for Armenia. Last week, Ms. Grande presented her credentials to President Kocharian. Today, she met with the Minister to present copies of her credentials and discuss the UN's immediate and future programs in and for Armenia.

Minister Oskanian welcomed Ms. Grande, thanked her for the work that the UN has done in Armenia since 1993. The current Programme of Cooperation between Armenia and the UNDP for the period 2000-2004 covers the areas of Democratic Governance, Poverty Reduction, Crisis Prevention and Recovery, Energy and Environment, Information and Communication Technologies, and HIV/AIDS.

The Minister welcomed the UN's initiative in supporting assistance to refugees, democratic and local governance, as well as information and communication technology applications.