On February 14, Ashot Hovakimian, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, participated in the opening ceremony of the Conference on “The Methodology for the Conservation and Strengthening of the Rock-Cut Churches and the Drainage System for Monastic Complex of Geghard”, being held within the framework of the UNESCO Participation Programme.

Welcoming the participants of the Conference, Ashot Hovakimian emphasized that the purpose of the Conference is to support the more efficient conservation of the Monastic Complex of Geghard through developing new methodologies for drainage system. Taking into account, that since 2000 the Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Valley of the Azat river have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as cultural heritage of the greatest importance for humanity, their conservation is extremely crucial.

Wishing success to the works of the Conference, the Deputy Minister expressed hope that the methodology developed by the conference experts would be an important precedent for the conservation of other cultural sites both in Armenia and worldwide.

Reference. The Conference is organised by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia, in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Armenian National Commission for UNESCO operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within the framework of the programme “The Methodology for the Conservation and Strengthening of the Rock-Cut Churches and the Drainage System for Monastic Complex of Geghard”, approved and funded by UNESCO.