SERGO YERITSIAN VISITS “MARIAM” EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT AND MEETS
WITH IRANIAN COUNTERPART

TEHRAN, January 19 (Noyan Tapan). RA Minister of Education and Science
Sergo Yeritsian and a delegation headed by him, which is in Tehran
now, visited the sections of boys and girls of the “Mariam”
establishment on January 17 morning. Eduard Babakhanian, the Chairman
of the Educational Council of the Armenian Diocese of Tehran,
Khoshdast, a representative of the Ministry of Education of Iran,
members of the Parents’ Councils of the two sections received them at
the school. Eduard Babakhanian spoke about the Armenian schools of
Tehran. Minister Yeritsian considered the Armenian schools as small
isles contributing to the protection of the Armenian nation, the
Armenian spirit, friendship of the two peoples. Students of the
elementary classes of the girls section performed during the
meeting. According to the “Alik” (“Wave”) daily newspaper of Tehran,
the same day, the Armenian delegation visited the National Scientific
and Research Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering of
Iran, where Director Dr. Sanatin and specialists of the Scientific and
Research Institute presented the work of different
departments. Minister Yeritsian attached importance to cooperation of
the two countries in this sphere, and Yervand Sahakian, the Pro-Rector
of the State Medical University of Armenia on Foreign Relations,
briefly presented the medical researches in Armenia. After midday the
Armenian delegation headed by the RA Minister of Education and Science
and accompanied by Garnik Badalian, the Envoy Extraordinary of the
Embassy of Armenia in Iran and the Charge D’Affaires of Armenia to
Iran, had a meeting with Minister of Education of Iran Morteza
Haji. At the meeting Sergo Yeritsian, attaching importance to
cooperation between the two countries in the educational sphere and
stressing the attention concentrated on the Iranian Studies and the
Persian language in Armenia, said that in many schools of Armenia
Persian is taught as a foreign language together with several foreign
languages, and Persian is the language of entrance examinations. He
added that 300 students study at the Department of Oriental Studies of
the Yerevan State University. Morteza Haji mentioned that the two
countries, Armenia and Iran, have close relations, and it is necessary
that they should also have good cooperation in the educational
sphere. According to the Minister, they may cooperate in the
pedagogical sphere, the holding of scientific and sport competitions
and the sphere of the exchange of teaching technique. Minister Haji
highly estimated the role of the Iranian Armenians in the Iranian art,
craft, in the scientific and cultural life. On January 18 morning, the
delegation departed to Rasht, where it also visited with the Armenian
Community of Rasht.