RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan received today Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic Nora Arisyan.

Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan also participated in the meeting.

Welcoming the Ambassador, the ESCS Minister emphasized the traditional, friendly ties between the two peoples based on mutual sympathy and trust, noting also the role of the Armenian community of Syria in this matter: “We are by your side and are ready to help in every possible way to overcome the current difficult situation and challenges. I think joint efforts will contribute to the restoration of the consequences and damage of the disaster. I assure you that these efforts will continue for as long as necessary.”

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic to Armenia Nora Arisyan thanked for the reception and provided details of the situation created in the country as a result of the disaster. On behalf of the Government of Syria, the Ambassador thanked Armenia for its assistance, highly appreciating the efforts of the RA Government to assist Syria in these tough times: “We are deeply touched and grateful for the support that the Armenian Government has provided to Syria since the very first day of the disaster. In addition to humanitarian aid, it was very important for us that Armenia sent search and rescue teams to Syria. We really needed them.”

According to the Ambassador, a number of important historical and cultural monuments were destroyed and about 250 schools collapsed and were damaged as a result of the earthquake in the provinces of Latakia, Aleppo, and Hama in Syria.

The ESCS Minister expressed confidence that the willingness and determination to move forward will greatly help overcome the difficulties that have arisen. Zhanna Andreasyan also reaffirmed the opportunity to consider the perspectives of mutual cooperation in all directions.

The Minister also stressed the importance of developing inter-university cooperation, emphasizing the activities of the Armenian Studies Department of Damascus University and the possibility of implementing joint programs:

“I think this is very important for our two countries. I am glad that your personal activity has also made a great contribution to this program. We will be open to new programs as well. We are interested in the possibility of providing education to Syrian citizens in our universities. I know that you are in close cooperation with Yerevan State University. We also attach importance to this cooperation from the perspective of learning Arabic. We encourage the learning of regional languages at various levels of education. Therefore, we are ready to understand the possibilities of learning Arabic in schools. Evidently, our priority issues are somewhat different these days, but along with the settlement of the situation, we are ready to consider the prospects for cooperation,” said Zhanna Andreasyan.

The ESCS Minister also highly appreciated the signing of the program of cooperation in the field of education and science for 2022-2027 between the Ministry and the Ministry of Higher Education of the Syrian Arab Republic and expressed the willingness of the Ministry to update it as necessary.

Parties discussed the possibility of implementing cooperation programs in the fields of education, research, culture, sports and youth.