Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia Zhanna Andreasyan received today the delegation headed by Georgian Minister of Education, Science and Youth Giorgi Amilakhvari, who is in Armenia as part of the official visit of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

ESCS Deputy Ministers Arthur Martirosyan and Araksia Svajyan, Chairman of the Committee on Higher Education and Science Sargis Hayotsyan, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Georgia Ashot Smbatyan and Ambassador of Georgia to Armenia Giorgi Sharvashidze also attended the meeting.

Welcoming the Minister of Georgia, ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan underlined the significance of close friendly cooperation between the two countries and the continuous development of bilateral relations and stressed that there are new opportunities for the implementation of joint programs in the fields of education, science and youth policy.

“The dialogue with the members of the Georgian Government attests to the close relationship that currently exists between the two countries,” stated Zhanna Andreasyan emphasizing the significance, in particular, of fostering direct ties between educational institutions and promoting collaborative promising initiatives.

In this regard, Zhanna Andreasyan also emphasized the significance of establishing the Georgian Studies Center at YSU, which the Minister claims will significantly contribute to the advancement and use of the Georgian language in Armenia.

Minister of Education, Science, and Youth of Georgia, Giorgi Amilakhvari expressed gratitude for the warm welcome and emphasized that close ministry-level cooperation will strengthen the friendship between the two countries. The Georgian Minister expressed his commitment to continue cooperating in the implementation of joint programs in the fields of education, science, and youth policy.

ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan thanked the Georgian Government for supporting Armenian language teaching in public schools and for their productive collaboration. According to Zhanna Andreasyan, RA will completely meet the Ministry of Education, Science, and Youth of Georgia's demand for textbooks in 2023 by providing 27,470 textbooks and educational materials to Georgia's Armenian schools. The parties also acknowledged the significance of collaboration in the context of the professional training, certification, and accreditation procedures for teachers of Armenian language and literature in Georgia's Armenian-speaking schools.

Touching upon the teaching of the Georgian language in general education schools in Armenia, Zhanna Andreasyan emphasized that the RA Government’s 2021-2026 action plan highlights the significance of teaching regional languages at various education levels. As part of the regional language introduction program, the Georgian language is taught in 4 RA schools. Zhanna Andreasyan pointed out that the main challenge in expanding the program lies in the shortage of teachers. In this regard, the ESCS Minister suggested exchanging experiences within the scope of developing teacher competencies and educational standards and curricula and designing instructional materials.

Minister Zhanna Andreasyan emphasized the significance of the scholarship program implemented as part of the Interstate Program, which provides citizens of both countries with the opportunity to receive a master's degree at universities in the neighbouring country.

Additionally, the sides considered the possibilities of organizing joint summer camps for schoolchildren and conferences with the participation of the youth from Armenia and Georgia.

The Ministers of the two countries also touched upon bilateral cooperation programs in the fields of science, higher education and youth, reaffirming the commitment to enhance relations through practical actions. In particular, the importance of the possibility of implementing joint programs within the “Erasmus+” and “Horizon Europe” programs was emphasized, which will contribute to the development of the internationalization process of universities and scientific institutions of the two states.

Other issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting.