RA Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Arthur Martirosyan received the newly appointed Ambassador of Cuba to the Republic of Armenia Oscar Santana Leon.

Arthur Martirosyan welcomed Oscar Santana Leon and congratulated him on assuming the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cuba to Armenia. The ESCS Deputy Minister highlighted the importance of the development of Armenian-Cuban relations and expressed hope that the appointment of the Ambassador will contribute to this.

“Cuba is an interesting and special country for us. We will be happy to promote the cooperation development between our countries: we have all preconditions for this,” stated Arthur Martirosyan, stressing the importance of concluding bilateral memoranda in the fields under the MoESCS’s coordination.

The Deputy Minister also said that the draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cuba in the field of culture and art is at the stage of mutual agreement.

Ambassador Oscar Santana Leon thanked for the reception, noting that there is a lot of work to be done to strengthen and advance relations with Armenia: “Our countries are small, the geographical distance is great, but for many years we have managed to maintain friendly relations. I think we have all the grounds to advance mutual cooperation in different directions.”

During the meeting, the sides emphasized the importance of dialogue and prospects for cooperation development between the higher education institutions of Armenia and Cuba. The ESCS Deputy Minister proposed to develop inter-university cooperation through the exchange of students, teachers and young scientists and the implementation of joint research programs.

The parties also encouraged cooperation in the fields of culture and art through the exchange of artistic groups, organizing exhibitions and culture days.

Touching upon the prospects of cooperation in the field of sports, ESCS Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan informed that today Armenia is taking steps to strengthen its place on the World Sports Map. To this end, a number of major sporting events are held in Armenia, in which the participation of Cuban athletes is also encouraged. The possibility of organizing joint training camps and trainings in various sports types was also discussed.

During the meeting, the sides also referred to other issues of mutual interest.