Armenia plans to add five monuments or groups of monuments to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List by 2031, Education, Science, Culture and Sports Minister Zhanna Andreasyan said.
Presenting cultural priorities during parliamentary discussions of the draft 2027 state budget, Andreasyan said Armenia had resumed submitting heritage sites to UNESCO’s Tentative List after a nearly three-decade hiatus, Armenpress reports.
“Inclusion on UNESCO lists provides not only an opportunity for international recognition but also a chance to improve the quality of management, since one of the important requirements is the existence of an appropriate management system for heritage sites,” she said.
Experts are preparing submissions for ancient Artashat, one of Armenia’s historical capitals, and rock-cut settlements in Syunik Province. The government also plans to nominate one of the country’s fortresses.
Andreasyan said Armenia intends to submit two additional elements of intangible cultural heritage for UNESCO recognition in the coming years.
Among recent initiatives, she highlighted the nomination “Areni-1 Cave: Prehistoric Life and Winemaking in the Arpa River Gorge.”
She also referred to a joint submission with Iran concerning traditions associated with rain and water, which would help promote international awareness of Armenia’s Vardavar celebration.
Armenia had not added new sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List since 1995. The process resumed in 2024 with the inclusion of “Dragon Stones and Cultural Landscape of Tirinkatar.”
The Tentative List identifies sites that countries may nominate for future inscription on the World Heritage List. Inclusion does not itself confer World Heritage status.
