Kazakhstan will name a street in its capital, Astana, after Mesrop Mashtots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet, marking a reciprocal cultural gesture discussed by the two countries during high-level meetings in 2025.
The inaugural ceremony will be held tomorrow, November 21, and will be attended by Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, who are currently in Kazakhstan with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for an official visit, according to an Armenpress correspondent in Kazakhstan.
Mesrop Mashtots was an Armenian linguist, composer, theologian, statesman, and hymnologist. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church. He is best known for inventing the Armenian alphabet c.?405 AD, which was a fundamental step in strengthening Armenian national identity. He is also considered to be the creator of the Caucasian Albanian and, possibly, the Georgian script, though it is disputed.
During Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s 2025 visit to Armenia, the two sides discussed a reciprocal plan to honor Mesrop Mashtots in Astana and to commemorate Abay Kunanbayev, the Kazakh poet and founder of Kazakh literature, in Yerevan. In line with that agreement, the Yerevan Council of Elders decided in April to name a park adjacent to Alma-Ata Street in the Avan administrative district after Kunanbayev.
On November 20, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Astana for an official visit that runs from November 20 to 21. During his visit, Pashinyan will meet with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, followed by an expanded-format meeting with their delegations. He will also meet with the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Oljas Bektenov, and Erlan Qo?anov, the Chairman of the Mäjilis, the lower house of parliament. Pashinyan will visit Astana Expo, the Alem.ai International Artificial Intelligence Center, and the National Museum of Kazakhstan.
