RA Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Alfred Kocharyan today received Ahmad Hamzezadeh, Director General of the Department of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of the Eastern Atrapatan Province of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The deputy minister welcomed the attendees and noted that friendly relations between Armenia and Iran have been going on for centuries, only strengthening and deepening with time.
"This is evidenced by the implemented and planned programs; in particular, there is an experience preparing joint applications for UNESCO in the cultural heritage field. We currently have one application in progress. The Blue Mosque in the heart of Yerevan is a good example of preservation of common heritage," said the deputy minister and added that Armenia is also participating in the process of being registered in the representative list of UNESCO's human and intangible cultural heritage.
Regarding the cooperation in tourism, Alfred Kocharian stated that Iranian citizens occupy the 3rd place among the visits to Armenia. According to him, all this is facilitated by the exhibitions, in which the parties participate on a mutual basis. The Deputy Minister assured that the Armenian side is ready to discuss the possibility of implementing new projects and initiatives.
Ahmad Hamzezadeh, in turn, emphasized that the close connection between Armenia and Iran has a centuries-old history. According to him, one of the priorities of the new government of Iran is to develop relations with neighboring countries, for which the bordering states are a connecting link. According to Ahmad Hamzezadeh, Eastern Atrpatan is one of the largest provinces of Iran, where many practical projects are implemented with neighboring countries. He informed that there are about 4,000 cultural heritages in the province, of which 4 have received global recognition, including 5 churches of St. Stepanos, St. Thaddeus, and St. Mariam.
"We carry out the conservation works of all these churches in cooperation with the Armenian community of Tabriz. This proves how important the Armenian cultural heritage is for us. There is no difference whether they are Armenian or Iranian; these monuments belong to the whole world," he said, adding that the process of rewriting more than 150 scripts and literature is being carried out with the Armenian community of Tabriz to place them in the Armenian museum.
He also proposed to organize mutual visits to world-approved churches in the two countries to boost tourism. Ahmad Hamzezadeh thanked for the preservation of Iranian literature in Matenadaran, as well as the Blue Mosque. He proposed to achieve the global approval of the mosque through joint efforts.
Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan thanked for the preservation of Armenian culture in Iran. "Cultural heritage has no nationality. It is global and belongs to all of us. We expect the same approach from all our partners to preserve Artsakh's historical and cultural heritage."
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the possibility of exchanging experiences in a museum, silversmithing, handicrafts, and restoration and preservation of monuments.
