U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien today visited the early Christian three-nave basilica of Yereruyk near the Shirak village of Anipemza on the left bank of the Akhurian River to inspect conservation work funded by a $175,000 grant funded by the U.S. Ambassador's Fund for the Preservation of Cultural Values.

Armenian Minister of Education Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan noted the visit underlined U.S. support to preserve and restore Armenia’s rich historical and cultural heritage.

Work at Yereruyk is underway to strengthen the basilica’s walls, replace damaged stones, install a drainage system, and build an exhibition site for the existing monumental stones.

In Yereruyk, Ambassador Kvien announced a new program of the Fund, which provides $74,000 to the Matenadaran for the preservation of rare manuscripts and archival documents created in the ancient Armenian monasteries of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The U.S. Ambassador's Fund for the Protection of Cultural Values has allocated $1.6 million since 2005. For fifteen cultural preservation projects in Armenia.