Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia Patrick Svensson. As we learn from the press release of the Ministry, the Deputy Minister of KGSMS Artur Martirosyan was also present at the meeting.
Welcoming the ambassador, the minister expressed confidence that as a result of his activities and joint efforts, the Armenian-Swedish relations will be further strengthened and deepened.
Zhanna Andreasyan emphasized the implementation of joint projects with the Swedish side in the spheres of coordination of the Ministry and expressed readiness to take necessary steps in that direction.
Taking into account the experience of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Minister of Education and Culture proposed to consider the possibility of mutual cooperation in the direction of the development of early childhood, universally inclusive, and secondary professional education.
Zhanna Andreasyan also emphasized that there is great potential within the framework of Armenian-Swedish friendly cooperation, which can contribute to the strengthening of inter-university cooperation by implementing joint educational and research programs, as well as student and professor exchange programs. In order to improve the process of internationalization of the universities of the two states and to ensure sustainable development, the minister proposed expanding the possibility of implementing “Erasmus+” programs.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the possibility of implementing joint projects in the field of culture. The works carried out within the framework of the “ArtNexus” project were especially emphasized in the context of the development of cultural policy and the development of cultural dialogue and cultural ties with Armenia, Sweden, and European countries in general.
During the meeting, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science Artur Martirosyan suggested to the ambassador to carry out work towards having an Armenian studies center in one of the Swedish universities, pointing out that the ministry is consistently active in the direction of teaching Armenian and Armenological subjects in universities, museum-institutes and centers of foreign countries, as well as promoting Armenological research.
“Today, about a dozen Armenian studies centers operating abroad receive funding from the RA state budget.”
Ambassador Patrick Svensson congratulated Zhanna Andreasyan on the occasion of her appointment to the position of minister and thanked for the warm welcome and constructive conversation. The ambassador highly appreciated the sectoral priorities outlined by the minister, stressing that the Swedish side is always ready to expand the scope of cooperation.
In the course of the meeting, the Andreasyan mentioned the humanitarian crisis caused by the blockade of Nagorno Karabakh, noting that the right to education of more than 30,000 children was violated.
Zhanna Andreasyan reminded that since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan has closed the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with the Republic of Armenia and the whole world – the Lachin Corridor, as a result of which the humanitarian crisis has a pronounced negative effect on all spheres. In this context, the minister expressed hope that the international structures will take appropriate steps to settle the issue sooner.
At the meeting, the parties discussed other issues of bilateral interest. It was agreed to take practical steps on the issues discussed.
