TEHRAN- Iran has reached a new level of leapfrogging relations with Armenia, said Minister of Cultural Heritage Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri.

According to IRNA, in a meeting with Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan on Sunday, he said: “Based on the [previously-inked] Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), we have begun operational measures with Armenia in the field of cooperation in the National Museum, holding handicraft exhibitions in Tehran and Yerevan, cooperation in the field of cultural heritage and joint tangible and intangible registration in UNESCO, and training in handicrafts sector.”

Welcoming the Armenian minister and the accompanying delegation, he stated, “We had happy days in Armenia last year and this year. Today, we spoke with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi about the constructive dialogues in Armenia, and his opinion was positive, and this trip was a turning point for the Iranian government.”

“Based on MoUs, we are implementing operational measures in the field of cooperation with the National Museum, holding handicraft exhibitions in Tehran and Yerevan, in the field of cultural heritage, joint registration of tangible and intangible works in UNESCO in 2025, and training and restoration in the cultural heritage and handicrafts sectors.”

Salehi-Amiri continued that out of 400 registered handicrafts fields in the world, 300 exist in Iran , and 573 people are officially engaged in producing handicrafts and one million housewives are engaged in handicraft production in their homes. “In 2024, we had $500 million worth of handicraft exports.”

“We have come to believe that our Armenian friends have been and are working constructively with us. We believe that convergence and peace between religions can start from holy places. We have restored most of the churches and registered them with UNESCO. My cultural heritage colleagues are ready to restore the Blue Mosque of Armenia, which is a work of the Qajar era.”

He said that the head of the Iranian Cultural Heritage Research Institute, who is a renowned professor, is ready to hold joint training workshops for artists in the fields of miniatures, Armenian pottery and restoration of works.

Salehi-Amiri noted: “In my meeting with Prime Minister of Armenia, I proposed launching an Armenian tourist tour of Iran, especially visiting churches and Iranian tourism, and vice versa, an Iranian tourist tour to visit Armenia. In 2024, 263,000 people from Armenia traveled to Iran, and 213,000 Iranians went to Armenia, which shows a 53-percent increase compared to 2023.” 

He emphasized: “Here is the home of the Armenian people, one of their interests is traveling to Armenia, and there is space for them.”

Salehi-Amiri said: “Based on the MoU, our first joint collaboration was held in Persepolis, where more than 100 musicians from Armenia attended the event and created a dream night, and it received good feedback in Iran and Armenia.”

He acknowledged: “We are ready to broadcast content produced for the attractions of Armenia, including films, podcasts and documentaries, in Iranian media, and in return, we expect the attractions of Iran to be portrayed in Armenian media.”

Addressing Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan, Salehi-Amiri said: “I request you to extend your trip by one day and visit our church and ancient monuments.” 

He explained: “My fellow ministers have planned intensive programs and meetings for you. We expect you to strengthen bilateral relations in the fields of culture, tourism, education and cultural heritage.”

Also, Deputy Tourism Minister Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandpei said: “Armenia is one of our tourism target countries. Our goal was to attract 400,000 to 500,000 tourists from this country last year, of which more than 50 percent was achieved. We are looking to hold a roadshow in Armenia.”

Meanwhile, Head of the Department for Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Alireza Izadi said: “We jointly registered the Saint Thaddeus Ritual with Armenia in 2020.” 

He added that the joint file for the Tirgan or Vardavar festival has also been initially accepted for UNESCO registration, and its final work will be completed in December next year.

At the end of the meeting, Iranian tourism minister and Armenian culture minister presented each other with a gift of handicrafts. 

KD