The delegation of Yerevan headed by Mayor Hayk Marutyan went to Rostov-on-Don with an official visit. On the first day of the visit the members of the delegation accompanied by their Rostov colleagues laid flowers at the Eternal Flame of the memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the Great patriotic war. Then Yerevan Mayor and the members of the delegation together with the representatives of the Armenian community of Nor Nakhichevan paid memory tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
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The official meeting of the mayors of Yerevan and Rostov-on-Don was held in the City Hall of Rostov. Mayor Hayk Marutyan and the head of Rostov administration Alexey Logvinenko signed the program of cooperation for five years. According to the document, the parties are obliged to develop cooperation in various spheres of urban economy in 2021-2025.
Mayor of Rostov Logvinenko noted that the signed document will give a new stimulus to implementation of constructive programs between the two cities.
“Yerevan and Rostov-on-Don have been sister-cities for 15 years. I am sure that the signed program will boost the cooperation between the cities taking into account the fact that the relationship between the cities has a big potential for development and expansion. It is also important to organize mutual visits”, said Alexey Logvinenko.
Expressing gratitude for welcome Mayor Hayk Marutyan expressed confidence that the friendly relations between the cities will additionally boost cooperation expansion.
“I can state that from the point of view of cooperation between cities Rostov and Rostov Oblast can serve an example. The directions outlined in the program are of mutual interest, and I will put all efforts to contribute to their implementation. We have wide possibilities to develop cooperation in the fields of education, health care, urban development, social development and other spheres”, noted Hayk Marutyan.
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The Yerevan delegation also visited Armenian Apostolic Church Surb Harutyun. The church built of pink tufa stone is a spiritual centre of the Armenians of Rostov (New Nakhichevan) and plays an important role in preservation of national identity.
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The museum of Armenian-Russian friendship has been working in Rostov since the 1970s. Mayor Marutyan and the members of the delegation visited that cultural centre, familiarized themselves with the precious collection. Before 2001 the museum was located in the building of Surb Khach church, then in the Hayrapetovs’s house. Among the exhibits one can find old Armenian books, household samples of the 18th century, the most precious of which is the copper set which the residents of the Crimea brought with them when were resettled in Rostov.