The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia Vahram Dumanyan received Vartine Ohanyan, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Lebanon accompanied by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lebanon to Armenia Maya Dager and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Lebanon Vahagn Atabekyan. Deputy Ministers of Education and Science Arthur Martirosyan and Karen Giloyan also attended the meeting.
Welcoming his counterpart’s visit to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Minister Dumanyan first thanked the Lebanese Government for participating in the events dedicated to the 106-th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with an official delegation. Touching upon the difficulties of the two countries in 2020, the Dumanyan expressed confidence that due to the purposeful work they will be overcome.
In this context, the Minister emphasized the Armenian-Lebanese cooperation, proposing to expand the opportunities of implementation of youth and sports joint programs to continue the further development.
“Warm friendly relations have been historically formed between our peoples, which is a solid basis for the implementation of interstate programs, the strengthening of existing cooperation and further development. Bilateral relations have a great potential, which we can successfully use in the spheres of youth and sports,” Dumanyan said.
Vartine Ohanyan thanked for the reception and conveyed Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s greetings and best wishes.
“The Armenian-Lebanese relations have always stood out with mutual trust and readiness to help each other. I am convinced that due to joint efforts our cooperation will be further strengthened and developed. We greatly value Armenia’s experience in the sector of youth and sports, and we are ready for cooperation in those areas,” said Vartine Ohanyan, emphasizing the key role of the Lebanese-Armenian community in bilateral relations.
The parties spoke about the challenges youth of the two countries face, the problems and ways to overcoming them. The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Arthur Martirosyan informed that the strategy of the RA state youth policy is currently being developed, the working group pays special attention to the relations with the Diaspora, to the possibilities of holding interstate youth forums. According to the Deputy Minister, it is also possible to deepen the Armenian-Lebanese relations by that format.
Touching upon the possible options of cooperation in the field of sports, the parties discussed the possibilities of holding joint training camps and seminars for the athletes of the two countries. Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Karen Giloyan expressed readiness to present the sports infrastructure of Armenia, to which Vartine Ohanyan gladly agreed. The partners were interested in the preparations of the athletes of the two countries for the Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo and wished each other success in the main sports review.
The interlocutors also exchanged views on educational reforms, strengthening cultural ties, reaching an agreement on Lebanese-Armenian community and Armenian schools in Lebanon, and signing a letter of intentions for cooperation in the coming days, thus taking practical steps to deepen ties.
