On April 23 the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian received the delegation led by the UNESCO's 36th General Conference Katalin Bogyay and the Deputy Director-General of UNESCO Getachew Engida who are in Yerevan to participate in the events dedicated to the Yerevan World Book Capital 2012.

Welcoming the guest, Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude for the participation in the events being held in Yerevan and noted that since its membership, for almost 20 years, Armenia actively participates in the UNESCO's activities in all areas. Edward Nalbandian reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to actively engage in UNESCO's various agencies and programs.

Congratulating for an impressive start of series of events dedicated to the Yerevan World Book Capital 2012, the senior officials of the UNESCO noted that the scales and variety of the events are a proof of attaching importance of the book and literature in Armenia.

The interlocutors touched upon the problems of preservation of cultural heritage and pluralism. In this context, the guests highly appreciated the steps being undertaken by Armenia towards the preservation of historical and cultural monuments.

The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs drew the attention of the guests to the anti-Armenian and racist propaganda carried out by Azerbaijan, as well as its policy of the destruction of historical heritage, resulting in the totally disappearing of thousands of monuments of global significance.

At the meeting issues related to Armenia’s participation in the programs implemented by the UNESCO were discussed.