YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian visited the Viktor Hambardzumyan Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory on July 21, where he met with the staff and was briefed on the ongoing activities.

Director of the observatory Areg Michaelyan presented ongoing activities, plans and international cooperation of the facility to the president.

Ideas were exchanged over the vision of development of the observatory, Sarkissian’s office said.

The president, who himself is a scientist by profession, attached importance to pointing out priority issues and forming a clear vision for the coming decades.

“It is important to have a general vision, we must know where Byurakan should be in ten or twenty years from now,” Sarkissian said, suggesting the staff to determine the priorities, present projects. The Armenian president expressed readiness to support the observatory as much as possible.

Sarkissian also toured the facility, visited the Viktor Hambardzumyan house-museum and talked to the staff.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan