EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos paid a visit to Armenia’s Shirak region on March 20. She paid a study visit to Gyumri where she reviewed EU-funded socio-economic programmes and met with representatives of educational institutions and the business community.
Kos visited Shirak State University, where she delivered a lecture on EU–Armenia relations and highlighted the importance of deepening bilateral ties during a meeting with students and faculty.
She said Europe and Armenia are closely connected. “Armenians have shaped European life for centuries. Armenians are our family, and it is a great joy for many of us that today our relations are better than they have ever been in the recent history of the European Union.”
Following the lecture, Kos answered questions from attendees. Rector Yervand Serobyan presented her with a book dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Shirak State University.
The commissioner then visited Gyumri’s old market area, where a large-scale EU-supported restoration project is under way.
Launched in 2024, the initiative is being implemented in cooperation with the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies and supported by international partners and donors.
The project includes the establishment of an international culinary school, where specialists from France’s “Institut Lyfe” will teach. Top graduates will have the opportunity to continue their studies in Lyon.
Lena Karapetyan, head of the TUMO Gyumri centre, said the total cost of the project is about $9 million.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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