DAYS OF UKRAINIAN CULTURE IN ARMENIA HAVE BECOME A RELIABLE BASIS FOR EXPANSION OF COOPERATION PROSPECTS
by Alexander Avanesov
arminfo
Tuesday, April 3, 12:45
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic
of Armenia, Mr. Ivan Kukhta, replies to ArmInfo News Agency’s questions
How would you characterize the Days of Ukrainian Culture in Armenia?
What do you think has been achieved and what has still to be done?
Over the past 20 years of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and
Armenia, the Days of Ukrainian Culture was the first large event in
Armenia. It is very important to hold such kind of events from the
point of view of promoting bilateral relations in the humanitarian
sphere. In general, one can say that the year 2011 proved to be
very fruitful in the bilateral relations, as the cooperation was
actively developing in all dimensions: political, economic and,
naturally, cultural and humanitarian spheres. Cultural and humanitarian
cooperation is very important in the bilateral relations, since these
relations are first and foremost provide a contact of the two cultures
and two nations.
The first Days of Armenian Culture in Ukraine were held in July 2011
on the margins of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Kiev.
The Days of Armenian Culture were well received by the Ukrainian
community. Moreover, the Days were held not only in Kiev, but also in
Odessa and Kharkov. Therefore, the geography of the Days of Ukrainian
Culture in Armenia has also been expanded: the event covered Yerevan,
the capital city of Armenia, as well as Gyumri and Spitak. And it
is not accidental, because the Ukrainian companies used to take an
active part in liquidation of the aftermath of the 1988 earthquake. The
incumbent President of Ukraine was among those, who were liquidating
the consequences of the quake. The given fact is a specific example
of cooperation between the regions of the two states. The residents
of Gyumri and Spitak still warmly recall the Ukrainian builders,
who took part in construction of housing and socio-cultural facilities.
Were the prospects of bilateral cooperation in the humanitarian sphere
outlined within the frames of the Days of Culture?
Certainly, they were. The choir “Galitskiye Perezvony” and the
National Chamber Orchestra “Kievskaya Camerata” visited Armenia. It
is very important that both of them presented the elements of the rich
culture of Ukraine – choral singing and classical music. In addition,
the paintings of the Painters’ Union of Ukraine were exhibited at
the National Gallery of Armenia.
The Culture Ministers of the two states met on the margins of the
Days of Culture. They pointed out the significance of such events, as
they are a reliable basis for development of prospects of cooperation
between Ukraine and Armenia in the cultural and humanitarian sphere.
First and foremost, the sides reached a high-level agreement on
Ukraine’s participation in the exhibition dedicated to the 500th
anniversary of book printing in Armenia in April 2012. They also
agreed to speed up cooperation between the students and creative teams
of the two states. In particular, in summer the children’s creative
teams from Armenia will participate in the international children’s
festival “Let’s Change the World for the Better” in Artek. Children
from almost all over the world will take part in the festival. Ukraine
is responsible for organizing the festival and for accommodation of
the participants in the Children’s Center “Artek”, and Armenia will
traditionally send its creative team to the festival. Our ministers
also touched on regional cooperation both between Kiev and Yerevan
and between other regions of our countries.
As far as I know, the Days of Culture also covered the issue of
preservation of the facilities of cultural and historical heritage…
Yes, this issue was really discussed during the event. First of all,
the matter concerns the large heritage of Armenian culture in Ukraine.
The first Armenian settlements appeared in Ukraine in XI century,
and they created a lot of cultural monuments. It is quite natural
that Ukraine is interested in preservation of these monuments. Today
the Municipality of Lviv allocates certain funds for renovation of
the frescoes in the Armenian Cathedral in Lviv. In addition, Ukraine
provides money for restoration of Armenian churches in the Crimea
and considers renovation of Armenian churches in Feodosiya and Yalta.
The Armenian community has applied to the Municipality of Kiev for
building the biggest monastery complex in Europe in the capital
of Ukraine…
The complex will be built at the approach to Kiev from Boryspil
Airport. The Municipality of Kiev has already provided a site for
construction. Ukraine will allocate part of the funds, but the Armenian
community in Ukraine (nearly 450 thsd people) will invest most part
of the money.
The final tournament of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship
will be hosted by Ukraine. Was this issue discussed in Yerevan?
When talking about the importance of cultural cooperation, one should
not leave out of account the cooperation in the sphere of sport.
Unfortunately, Armenia’s team failed to reach the final tournament;
we all were distressed for the Armenian football players. Undoubtedly,
Euro-2012 will become a large sport event in the history of modern
Ukraine, because it will raise the image of the young independent
state. Our Minister of Culture kindly invited all fans and just
citizens of Armenia to visit Ukraine during this big sport event.
Within the frames of Euro-2012, Ukraine will present its culture,
art, cuisine, as well as its huge tourism potential.
From: A. Papazian