YEREVAN. – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan participated in the opening ceremony of the new complex of Scientific-Research Institute Museum of Ancient Manuscripts Matenadaran after Mesrop Mashtots in Yerevan.

The President of Nagorno-Karabakh Bako Sahakyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Catholicos of Great House of Cilicia Aram I and other guests participated in the ceremony as well.

In his speech President Sargsyan noted that the end of the reconstruction works worth the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

“Yerevan is rich with gracious buildings and symbolic structures. However, the Matenadaran is priceless and has nothing equal. It means everything for the Armenians: the language, literature, science, birth certificate and biography. It is our national wealth, which became the strongest fortress of the Armenian identity. We belong to the number of those few nations that can be proud of having 1600-year-old history documented. Next year we are going to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Armenian first printed book. The Matenadaran is also a significant scientific-research center,” the welcoming speech of the president reads.