KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

A center of Hungarian history, cultural studies and language will operate in Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU). The corresponding agreement was ratified earlier this week during the visit of Anna Maria Shiko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary to Armenia, and Tristan Azbej, State Secretary, Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. The document was ceremoniously ratified ASPU Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan and Tristan Azbej. Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will support the implementation of the project. The guest lecturer of the program is a graduate of the Department of Armenian Studies at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPCU).

ASPU representatives believe that the center will become an important bridge and will contribute to the strengthening and continuation of centuries-old ties of the two countries in the fields of history, research and science.

ASPU Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan says cooperation with PPCU, one of the oldest universities in Europe, which began in 2016, is entering a new phase. Let us remind that an Armenian delegation led by RA President Vahagn Khachaturyan paid an official visit to Hungary earlier this year. Several representatives of ASPU led by Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan were among the Armenian delegates. As part of the visit to the PPCU, the parties signed an agreement on making additions to the agreement on international cooperation signed between ASPU and PPCU.

Srbuhi Gevorgyan considers the cooperation between the two universities to be successful. Students taking master’s courses at ASPU since 2017 and bachelor's program in Armenian Studies since 2019 are unique ambassadors who will contribute to the development of innovative programs, she said.

Tristan Azbej considers his arrival in Yerevan in a direct flight to be the first real attempt towards restoring the diplomatic relations between the two countries in question.

The representative of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says a number of events took place between the two countries in the past years. Since last year, the Hungarian government has been implementing a number of social programs to support Armenians. Also, 30 scholarships will be allocated to Armenian students to study in Hungarian educational institutions.

Tristan Azbej emphasized the fact that regardless of the official relations of the two countries, the two peoples continue to cooperate: the fact is that the friendship of the Armenian and Hungarian peoples is not based on official ties, which was also confirmed by ASPU and PPCU.

He hailed the agreement signed between the two educational institutions in 2016, and said he personally followed the establishment of the Chair of Armenian Studies at PPCU and the life od Armenian students in Hungary. Mr. Azbej is proud that a center of Hungarian studies is opening at ASPU.

“Our two countries are not rich in natural resources: the greatest resource and wealth is culture and youth, which should be enriched," Tristan Azbej added.

Edgar Hovhannisyan, Dean of the Faculty of History and Social Sciences at ASPU, said in turn that when diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken off, ASPU continued the historical ties with Hungary in educational and humanitarian fields.

“Now that the diplomatic ties between our countries are restored, I am proud to say that ASPU made the most of public diplomacy to make great contributions to all of this," he added.