RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan received the delegation headed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Armenia Alfonso Di Riso. ESCS Deputy Minister Ara Khzmalyan also attended the meeting.

Ambassador Alfonso Di Riso informed ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan that a delegation headed by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Italy Gennaro Sangiuliano will pay a visit to Armenia in the near future. The parties considered various issues related to the objective and agenda of the visit of the Minister of Culture of Italy.

Highlighting the importance of joint programs in the fields of education, science, culture, sports and youth, and experience exchange, Zhanna Andreasyan noted that they create new opportunities for expanding effective cooperation.

During the meeting, the upcoming joint programs in the field of culture, their formats, as well as the schedule were discussed and specified.

The Ambassador of Italy to Armenia, in turn, noted that the interaction between the two countries begins with cultural relations, and Armenia's cooperation with Italy is more active in the field of culture.

The ESCS Minister also stressed the importance of inter-university cooperation, with regard to the exchange of Italian experience, in particular.

The parties expressed their willingness for close cooperation in the preservation of cultural heritage and restoration of artworks.

Zhanna Andreasyan drew the Ambassador's attention to the problem of the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and expressed hope that international structures will take targeted actions and steps to resolve the problem.

Other issues of mutual interest were discussed at the meeting. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Armenia Alfonso Di Riso thanked for the interesting and fruitful discussion. During the meeting, he handed over to the Armenian side books on Italian art, culture and literature translated into Armenian by the Embassy.