RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Armenia Riina Kaljurand and representatives of the Estonian Center for International Development.

The meeting was attended by ESCS Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan.

Welcoming the Ambassador, Zhanna Andreasyan stressed the importance of cooperation between the two friendly countries and expressed confidence that the implementation of joint programs in the fields of education, science, culture, sports and youth will contribute to the development and enhancement of bilateral relations. According to the ESCS Minister, there is great potential for the development of relations between the two countries, and it is necessary to create a real field of cooperation by moving to distinct actions.

The Minister highlighted the importance of developing inter-university dialogue between the two countries, which will include the opportunity of implementing joint educational and research programs, as well as exchange programs for students and lecturers.

The parties discussed cooperation in multilateral formats, in particular, encouraging universities to submit joint applications within the framework of “Erasmus+” programs. It was emphasized that such interaction will contribute to improving the process of internationalization of universities of the two states and ensuring sustainable development in the field of higher education.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Armenia Riina Kaljurand, in turn, noted that cooperation in the field of education is one of the important directions.

The Ambassador informed that the Estonian Government pays great attention to both higher and postgraduate education, and also to general education, and noted that in the Republic of Estonia, an interdisciplinary model is implemented in the sector of general education, which enables children to choose their profession at the level of general education.

Riina Kaljurand informed that the Estonian model is one of the best in Europe and is being piloted in schools in other countries for the purpose of localization.

“The RA Government attaches importance to educational reforms. Currently, new standards of general education are being piloted, and to this end, laboratory infrastructures are being created in all schools of the Republic of Armenia, which can be a good prerequisite for improving the quality and effectiveness of education in the direction of Natural Sciences. It is important for us to discuss and understand the best practices of other countries, which can be useful in terms of forming the final outcome set by the state standard,” said the ESCS Minister.

Minister Zhanna Andreasyan also expressed willingness to present the Armenian experience, noting that high-quality educational services are also provided within non-formal education in Armenia, highlighting the activities of the “Tumo” Center for Creative Technologies and “Armath” Engineering Laboratories.

The Minister stated that cooperation in the field of science is also advancing, particularly noting that the ESCS Science Committee has undertaken steps and established contacts with the Research Council of Estonia to enhance the efficiency of the science sector reforms, the funding mechanisms of scientific organizations, the expertise of scientific projects and experience in a number of other fields. with a recommendation to implement exchange programs.

Touching upon the field of culture, Zhanna Andreasyan noted that effective cooperation between the two countries is also based on steps aimed at developing cultural ties: “We will be happy if cultural figures and groups of the Republic of Armenia also take part in the international cultural events organized in Estonia. Our Ministry, in turn, is ready to host Estonian cultural figures at cultural events organized in Armenia.”

The sides considered the possibility of implementing cooperation programs also in the fields of sports and youth.