Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in a gala event dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences (NAS). In attendance were national academy presidents from over a dozen countries, heads of international scientific organizations, who have arrived in Armenia to join the celebrations of the NAS 75th anniversary.

Congratulating those present on the Jubilee, the Acting Prime Minister noted, “Today, our duty is to remember with great sense of gratitude those who founded the institution as early as in 1943. In the difficult years of the war, that initiative meant not only unconditionally believing in victory and peace, but also unconditionally believing in Armenia, its people, the great potential and future of our science. It was a feat that was made by great Armenian scholars, and we are now thanking them for their rich heritage.”

Nikol Pashinyan underscored that during the Soviet era, the RA NAS was also an important part of national identity and self-consciousness. “You all know that there was not much room for holding to national identity in the Soviet Union, and it was commonplace to emphasize the logic of internationalism. In this regard, our NAS was an important institute of national identity and self-consciousness, national pride. The Soviet Armenia had a technological and scientific role in the USSR just like the Silicon Valley in the modern world. That situation was among other things due to the activity of the National Academy of Sciences.”

According to the Acting Prime Minister, after the collapse of the USSR, great efforts were made to help the NAS adapt to new realities and function as much efficiently, but for subjective and objective reasons, transitional challenges did not allow the Armenian economy to continue the role played during the Soviet era.

“I remember and emphasize all this not just as a reminder, but I want to stress highlight the program and the ambition that the Armenian government has set following the non-violent, velvet revolution: we want to make of Armenia a technologically advanced country just as it used to be in the years and conditions of the former USSR. We have the most important asset for that - human potential, I mean those who have the necessary skills and, most importantly, traditions related to NAS activities. We hope the Armenian science, the government and the public will come to a unique consensus on this issue and the new technological breakthroughs in Armenia will bring a new technological revolution,” the acting Prime Minister stated in his speech, adding that as a result of recent political changes in Armenia new perspectives for scientific, technological and intellectual activities have been opened.

“Armenia should be an intellectual, developed and technologically developed country because we believe that human mind, which is infinite, is the most important instrument for dealing with different problems. It means that each of us has unlimited possibilities, and we hope we will be able to use those limitless opportunities,” Nikol Pashinyan emphasized.

Thanking all those scientists and scholars who founded the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, worked there and managed to raise the reputation of the NAS, Nikol Pashinyan expressed confidence that Armenian scientists will offer new opportunities for our people to be proud of. The Acting Prime Minister also thanked the foreign scientists for joining the celebrations dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences, which is a vivid example of cross-country cooperation.

The meeting participants and the heads of international scientific organizations thanked Nikol Pashinyan for the meeting and appreciated the State support provided to fundamental research in Armenia.

They welcomed Nikol Pashinyan’s recommendations on transforming Armenia into a leading technological country. They described as quite effective the ongoing cooperation with the Armenian NAS.

Nikol Pashinyan toured the exhibition dated to the NAS 75th anniversary in a bid to get acquainted with the achievements of NAS-affiliated research organizations, including the latest prototypes, which reflect innovative potential.