US deputy assistant secretary of state for education, cultural Affairs is in Armenia

Zhanna Andreasyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia, received Rafik Mansour, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the US State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia informs Armenian News-NEWS.am. Andreasyan emphasized the importance of Armenian-American interaction, and highlighted effective cooperation in the preservation of cultural heritage. Zhanna Andreasyan stressed, in particular, that the issue of preservation of the Armenian cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh has become more acute after the events of September 19, when more than 5,000 Armenian monuments and more than 20 Armenian museums are endangered in Nagorno-Karabakh after the forced displacement of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.                         The minister emphasized that the issue of preservation of rich intangible Armenian cultural heritage is also a serious problem because the forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have now settled in Armenia. Zhanna Andreasyan reflected also  on Armenia-US cooperation in education, and noted that there are successful programs in this field and their results are more than visible. Rafik Mansour, for his part, stated that he observed a number of changes and positive trends after his last visit to Armenia. Also, he underscored a number of education and cultural programs being jointly implemented, as well as combining of efforts to preserve the Armenian cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh. The parties discussed several other matters of Armenia-US bilateral interest as well, and expressed their readiness to continue the joint program initiatives in order to further strengthen and deepen relations between the two countries and peoples.