Friday, September 23 2022 12:43

ArmInfo.On September 22, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan participated in the  Ministerial meeting of the Ancient Civilizations Forum in New York  and delivered remarks, which read as follows:

"Excellences,

Dear friends,

It is a great honour to attend this Ministerial Meeting of the  Ancient Civilizations Forum, which aims to put the potential of our  ancestral cultures for the advocacy of cultural diversity and peace.

I would like to thank the Republic of Iraq for conveying this  meeting.

Armenia considers this Forum as a platform for cultural dialogue and  cooperation that can play a significant role in meeting the  challenges that today's globalized world is facing. We are committed  to actively supporting and contributing to joint efforts on  strengthening intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding and  acceptance.

We are convinced that optimized multicultural collaboration,  knowledge exchange, and policies focused on fostering culturally  inclusive dynamics, innovation, solidarity and sustainability can  consolidate unfailing tolerance, respect for difference and peace.

Dear Friends,

As we speak, Armenian cultural heritage is being destroyed by  Azerbaijan in the territories of Nagorno- Karabakh that came under  their control after the 2020 war. By pursuing its policy of  destruction and eradication of the Armenian culture in the region  both in peacetime and during the recent war, Azerbaijan wants to deny  the very essence of this heritage. It is more than urgent for the  international community to act and provide firm responses to prevent  these barbaric acts that jeopardize peace efforts and the  establishment of stability and security in the region. The  intentional destruction of cultural heritage sites by Azerbaijan is a  challenge not only to Armenia but to the whole of mankind, and it  must be strongly condemned and dealt with. In this regard, we highly  value UNESCO's proposition to dispatch an independent expert mission  to Nagorno-Karabakh, which so far has been and is still being blocked  by Azerbaijan.

Dear colleagues,

Armenia has repeatedly expressed its readiness to collaborate with  international partners to achieve fair implementation of measures  aiming to protect cultural heritage and invest in global efforts to  enhance intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity.

We hope that our joint efforts and dedication will allow us to pursue  our commitments and further strengthen our ties and collaboration.

I thank you".