Acting Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia Arthur Martirosyan received Charge d'affaires at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Republic of Armenia Jaap Frederiks.

Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan and Vice Ambassador Kiven Kouvenar also attended the meeting.

Welcoming Jaap Frederiks, Arthur Martirosyan wished him fruitful work for the benefit of the development of Armenian-Dutch friendly relations. He expressed confidence that Jaap Frederiks will contribute to the strengthening and advancing of relations between Armenia and the Netherlands

“We have always had warm friendly relations with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. I am sure that there are great prospects for collaboration throughout the ESCS Ministry’s scope of coordination,” said Arthur Martirosyan, expressing willingness to strengthen the cooperation.

Touching upon the prospects for cooperation in the field of education, Arthur Martirosyan informed the Charge d'affaires of the Embassy that the “RA Education Development State Program until 2030" has been adopted, which clearly outlines the priorities and development targets for all levels of education.

“This is the only strategy that has a law status to mark the essential role of education in public development. It will be aimed at enhancing students' abilities, taking into account the labour market requirements, as well as strengthening the value system. Our goals are providing universally inclusive, high-quality and affordable educational services in all settlements, enhancing the efficiency of education, as well as internationalizing educational services in terms of changing the role of Armenia in the global education system,” underlined Arthur Martirosyan.

Within the framework of the Armenian-Dutch friendly cooperation, Arthur Martirosyan proposed to consider the possibility of ensuring the development of inter-university cooperation through the implementation of joint educational and research programs, as well as exchange programs for students and teachers. On behalf of the ESCS Ministry Arthur Martirosyan, expressed willingness to implement joint programs within the interuniversity cooperation aimed at developing an Armenian studies centre or chair in one of the universities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Charge d'affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Armenia, Jaap Frederiks, thanked for the reception, emphasizing the potential for the development of relations between the two countries and the expansion of sectoral cooperation.

Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan drew the attention of his colleagues to the preservation issue of more than 5,000 Armenian historical and cultural monuments, museums, and exhibits, as well as intangible cultural heritage on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh under the threat of Azerbaijani aggression. According to the Deputy Minister, they are also unique values of world cultural heritage and Azerbaijan poses a serious threat to their destruction and distortion.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed prospects for further cooperation in the fields of culture and youth, as well as the possibility of holding a temporary exhibition at the History Museum of Armenia from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2024, outlining possible details of cooperation.

The parties also considered issues related to joint study tours with the participation of representatives of museums, experience exchange, promotion of professional education in the museum business, implementation of joint programs, and organization of short-term training programs.