Armenia-EU subcommittee meeting on education talks in Yerevan

Yerevan, June 1. /ARKA/. Education is one of the main issues to discuss on agenda at the first meeting of Armenia-EU subcommittee for cooperation in social, health, educational, scientific, cultural spheres, as well as related to youth, information, audio-visual policy and technologies.

The meeting is being held in Yerevan on Friday. 

“All those issues which we will discuss today at our meeting will be reflected in the Association Agreement between Armenia and the European Union. The main purpose of the meeting is to concentrate on the mutual cooperation in various spheres, particularly, education,” Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said.

Educational program Tempus Erasmus Mundus epitomizes the favorable mutual academic cooperation, according to him. 

“Such programs enable young people and students to be active, study within the common European educational space,” he added.

TEMPUS educational program, launched by the European Commission, has been operating in Armenia since 1995. Throughout 1995-2007 32 long-term projects, worth of 5.5 million euros, were implemented in Armenia. In general, Tempus implemented 92 projects within its three phases of operation. 

Erasmus Mundus basically offers exchange programs for professors, postgraduate, graduate and undergraduate students between Armenia and other states of the region and Europe. 

It was launched by the European Commission in 2007.

On her side, Deputy Minister of Education and Culture of Armenia Karine Harutyunyan said that Armenia-EU collaboration in education, is mainly, coordinated in the framework of Bologna convention implying implementation of student exchange programs to ensure high-quality education abroad.

“Unfortunately, Armenian side currently has a low percent of involvement ( into these programs),” she added.

She also noted that these meetings will become regular. 

Negotiations on the Association Agreement Armenia-EU started on June 19, 2010 in Yerevan. The upcoming agreement will substitute the agreement on partnership and cooperation and is aimed at strengthening the relations between Armenia and European Union in different spheres, particularly in the sphere of foreign policy, democracy, economic integration, movement of people and energy. EU leads the analogical negotiations with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova. -0-