On November 7, 2014, the official opening ceremony of the Institute for Armenian Studies took place in Babes Bolyai University of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca that was attended by the rector, academician Ioan-Aurel Pope, director of the Institute, Prof. Dr. Lucian Nastasă-Kovacs, rector of Yerevan State University Aram 
Simonyan, the Ambassador of Armenia in Romania Hamlet Gasparyan, provincial council chairman of Cluj Istvan Vakar, the President of the Armenian Union of Romania, Senator Varujan Voskanyan, Archbishop of Alba Julia, Archbishop of the Catholic Armenians of Romania George Yakubi, director of the Center of Studies of the History of Jews in Romania Dr. Liviu Rotman, mayors of the cities Gherla and Dumbraveni populated by Armenians, members of the Romanian Academy, scholars, professors and students.
The Institute for Armenian Studies is the first institute in Central and Eastern Europe and was founded on the initiative of the head of the doctoral school of International Relations and Security Studies of the same University Lucian Nastasă-Kovacs, RA Embassy of Romania, and by the support of the Armenian Union of Romania.
Nastasă-Kovacs noted, “The foundation of the Institute for Armenian Studies is not
only an important step in the study of the Armenian communities of the Central and Eastern Europe, but also extremely urgent taking into consideration the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide that deeply affected the Aremnians of the whole world and will be commemorated next year".
According to Ambassador Hamlet Gasparyan the Institute for Armenian Studies would contribute to the disclosure and enrichment of the Armenian identity in the cultural diversity of the area and the mutual understanding for the next generations would become easier. He added, “In the context of the Centennials of the First World War and the Armenian Genocide the Institute for Armenian Studies can become an open platform for the discussion of causes and consequences of that terrible tragedy that affected the Armenian people, formed the wounded Armenian identity, placed the Armenia and Armenian Diaspora before the difficult challenges”.
YSU Rector Aram Simonyan highly appreciated the foundation of the Institute for Armenian Studies in Romania and noted that YSU would support it in the future. On the opening of the Institute for Armenian Studies the Bishop of the Armenian Diocese of Romania Tatev Hakobyan also sent a message.
Before the opening ceremony there was a meeting between Ioan-Aurel Pope and Aram Simonyan and they agreed to sign cooperation agreements between Cluj and Yerevan Universities, as well as between Iinstitutes for Armenian Studies.
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