French Development Agency, Armenian government to expand cooperation  areas and programs` scope 

ArmInfo. Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the Deputy CEO of the French Development Agency (Agence Fran‡aise de D‚veloppement - AFD)  Bertrand Walckenaer.

As the government's press service reports, the Prime Minister highly  appreciated the cooperation with the French Development Agency and  expressed hope that in the near future it will further develop and  include other new areas. Nikol Pashinyan noted that Armenia is  interested in deepening and expanding cooperation with France in all  fields, and in the recent period, consistent steps are being taken in  this direction.

Bertrand Walckenaer noted that the Agency plans to expand the  directions of cooperation with the Armenian government and the scope  of programs, contributing to the development of various  infrastructures in Armenia.

During the meeting, issues related to the projects implemented in  cooperation with the French Development Agency, including the  construction of the Vedi reservoir, were discussed. 

On January 26, 2016, in order to finance the construction of a  reservoir in Vedi, the French Development Agency allocated a loan of  75 million euros to the Republic of Armenia (co-financing from the  Government of the Republic of Armenia will amount to 15 million  euros), within the framework of which it is planned to build a  reservoir with a volume of 29.4 cubic meters and a water surface of  120 hectares. The sources of water will be the rivers of the Ararat  region - Vedi and Khosrov. Full implementation of the program will  make it possible to alleviate the problem of water shortage in the  Ararat Valley, as well as move from mechanical irrigation to a  gravity supply system, which, in turn, will lead to energy savings.   The project was initially planned to be completed within four years,  but at the end of May 2022, according to the RA government, the  project was completed by 77 percent.

The construction of the reservoir is of great strategic importance  for Armenia. Turkey previously announced its plans to build large  reservoirs on the Araks, which carries risks for the Armenian side in  the form of a shortage of irrigation water. Armenia cannot completely  neutralize such risks, but the Vedi reservoir will help mitigate the  consequences of Turkish water expansion.