YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Issues worked out during 2005 a number of cultural drafts, conceptions, legal acts as well as numerous programs concerning cultural policy. Gagik Gyurjian, the acting Minister informed journalists about this on January 18. The acting Minister also informed that works of keeping, improvement of about 24 thousand monuments existing on the territory of the country, defining, certifying their preservation zones, accounting of newly found out monuments, formation of lists of monuments in marzes continued in 2005. Separation of hitoric-cultural special preserved lands was implemented in 89 communities. Studies concerning keeping, restoration and technical state of monuments were organized in the RA 10 marzes. Museum collections were added by 7788 museum subjects in 2005. 325 certificates for the right of exporting cultural values were given during the same year. 1144 cultural values were allowed to export, state tax of 1657.7 thousand drams (about 3700 U.S. dollars) was gathered. 4611 subjects of cultural meaning were allowed to export without certificate for the right of exporting cultural values. Works of preparing the national report titled "Cultural Policy of Armenia" were finished in 2005. In the sense of international cultural cooperation, the Ministry joint with the RA Foreign Ministry prepared 22 intergovernmental international agreements, signed 10 practical programs and memoranda. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian estimated the report of the Ministry of Culture "unsatisfactory," mentioning that those presented in the document don't represent activity of the Ministry as a state government body working out policy of the sphere. The report reminds a report of a state non-commercial organization. According to the Prime Minister, the cause of the Ministry's bad work is non-clear distribution of responsibilities among the struture responsibles.

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