The Role of Cultural Diplomacy in Deepening Relations Between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Armenia

The most important factor in strengthening and deepening the relations between any two nations and two countries in today’s world is culture, and this issue becomes of special and key importance when the two countries are geographical “neighbors”. It is an undeniable fact that there have been friendly relations between Iran and Armenia for a long time and all throughtheir history, which have been based on common civilizational and cultural elements. It goes without saying that any kind of activity between two countriescalls forhaving accurate knowledge about the values, interests and beliefs of one another.This is especially important when it comes to cultural diplomacy, which is the most important means- among other types of diplomacy- ofconveying the intended messageto the addressees;the reason being that culture is the by-product of the beliefs and values of every nation and it is these beliefs that form the source of cultural interactions between two nations. The author ofthis research paper intends to use the survey method to assess the views of the Armenian people about their values and beliefs, and,in this way, provide a more accurate interpretation of the views and knowledge of the Armenian people about their neighbors. In order to materialize this purpose, a form containing 15 questions was prepared and translated into the Armenian language and distributed among different strata of people in Yerevan. Keeping in view the knowledge of the Iranian people about the culture, art, and literature, as well as the widespread influence of such factorsas religion, politics, and economics in the Armenian society and the important role of family, music, and cyberspace in filling their leisure time, it was concluded that the use of active and dynamic cultural diplomacy in alignment with the speed and quality of today’s digital world can play an important role in deepening relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Armenia in different areas.