U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation to provide grant for rare Nagorno-Karabakh manuscripts

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan and United States Ambassador Kristina Kvien have visited the Yereruyk Basilica in Shirak where conservation work is underway for the historic structure with a $175,000 USD grant from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.

The visit underscored the United States’ commitment to support the preservation and restoration of Armenia’s rich historic-cultural heritage, the ministry said in a press release.

Andreasyan attached importance to the U.S. support which allows to preserve the unique UNESCO World Heritage listed basilica.

The minister said that educational projects promoting cultural heritage will be organized at Yereruyk for the youth.

The U.S. Ambassador said that the cooperation with Armenia in cultural preservation shows the strong partnership between the two countries.

“Together we are preserving history and contributing to shaping mutual understanding and respect,” she said.

Ambassador Kvien also announced a new project of the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation: $74,000 grant for preservation of rare manuscripts and archival documents produced in ancient Armenian monasteries, which shed light on the rich cultural and historical Armenian written legacy of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation implemented a total of 15 projects worth 1,6 million USD since 2005.

The Armenian government allocated over 1,1 billion drams for the preservation of historic and cultural monuments in 2024, twice more than the previous allocation and about 5-6 times more compared to the previous years.