YEREVAN - The United Nations held an event on Friday to promote the Chinese language, one of the working languages of the world body.

Government officials, college students and professors attended the celebration, aimed at promoting multilingualism and cultural diversity and educating the youth on the crucial role of the UN's official languages in spreading its messages around the world.

Addressing the event, Maria Dotsenko, a representative of the UN Department of Public Information in Armenia, said she was delighted to see the strong interest in the Chinese Language Day in the country.

She said she hoped the event would be a useful opportunity for the youth to learn about the splendid Chinese civilization.

Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Tian Changchun also voiced hope such activities would encourage young Armenians to discover the Chinese language and culture.

Ashot Voskanyan, head of the Asia-Pacific and Africa Department of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, said his country and China had enjoyed a traditional friendship even before Armenia gained independence in 1991.

"After the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, our relations have grown to be more forthcoming and strong," he said.

More than 20 students from the Confucius Institute of the Yerevan State Linguistic University participated in presentations promoting the Chinese language and sharing the ancient art of calligraphy.

Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the UN's six official working languages. The UN Department of Public Information and its partners plan to hold events in a number of countries to promote all the official languages this year.