YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian on January 23 hosted Secretary-General of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, Professor Paolo Cotta-Ramusino, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The Pugwash Conference is an influential international platform uniting scientists, political and public figures for the sake of reduction of threat of the armed conflicts aimed at searching for solutions against the global security challenges.

It was founded in 1957 by Joseph Rotblat and Bertrand Russell in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada. Rotblat and the Pugwash Conference jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for their efforts on nuclear disarmament.

During the meeting President Sarkissian said he is well aware of the ideas, goals of the Conference and highly values the efforts of the scientists, political and public figures aimed at having a more secure, safer world free of weapons of mass destruction.

Nobel Prize winner Paolo Cotta-Ramusino said they plan to hold the regular Pugwash Conference in Yerevan this year in November. The Secretary-General said Armenia can be the best place for dialogue.

The President welcomed the idea of holding the Conference in Armenia and stated that a number of leading international conferences are expected to take place in Armenia this year.

“The combination of science and politics is specifically important from the perspective of the future, especially in the context of new technologies and artificial intelligence”, the Armenian President said.

Armen Sarkissian expressed readiness to assist to organize and hold the Conference at the highest level.

The two physicists also talked about the drastic changes taking place in the world, the global risks and challenges, as well as the ways to resist and avoid them.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan