RA ESCS Minister Vahram Dumanyan received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to the Republic of Armenia Alison Mary LeClaire. RA ESCS Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan also participated in the meeting.

Welcoming the Ambassador, Minister Vahram Dumanyan highlighted the importance of friendly relations with Canada and expressed confidence that it is necessary to expand and advance bilateral cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture, sports and youth. According to Vahram Dumanyan, a fairly wide range of sectors are under the Ministry’s coordination, starting from preschool education to sports, and, therefore, every family is connected with the activities of the ESCS Ministry.

The Minister underlined the possibility of establishing cooperation in the field of higher education, in particular, through the exchange and implementation of joint programs. Vahram Dumanyan also underlined the importance of possible Armenian-Canadian cooperation in the fields of culture and sports, information technology and agricultural education.

The Minister touched upon the possibility of implementing programs in the field of education and youth in Armenia with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Thankful for the reception, Ambassador Alison Mary LeClaire congratulated on the approval of the “State Program for the Development of Education of the Republic of Armenia until 2030”, emphasizing that internationalization is one of its important components. According to her, positive developments have been recorded between Armenia and Canada this year, and the opening of the Canadian embassy in Yerevan will contribute to closer relations.

The Ambassador noted that Canada is willing to promote democracy and prosperity in Armenia, and education has a key role in achieving these goals. According to her, the Canadian educational system is one of the best in the world, it has famous and competitive universities, research institutions and quite flexible VET programs in accordance with the labor market requirements. The Ambassador suggested considering the possible cooperation in the field of VET, as well as in the fields of training and certification with the possibility of institutional partnership and exchange of experience.

Vahram Dumanyan reaffirmed the possibility of cooperation in the field of VET, stressing that this is of strategic importance for our country, and legislative reforms are currently being implemented in this direction. As a successful example of cooperation, Vahram Dumanyan pointed to the experience of localization of the French model at the Patrick Devedjian Regional College in Tavush, expecting the possibility of similar cooperation between the Canadian partners and our compatriots.

The Minister also drew the Ambassador's attention to the issue of preserving the Armenian cultural heritage in the territories that came under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the 44-day war, noting that the Armenian side expects the support of the international community, including Canada, in this regard, so that Azerbaijan refrains from destroying and distorting the Armenian cultural heritage.

Other issues of mutual interest were also considered at the meeting.