YEREVAN, JUNE 8 ARMENPRESS. The “Summit of minds” taking place in Armenia is a very important platform to discuss a number of global issues. For Armenia it’s very important for understanding where the world moves and where the world will be in 20-30 years and planning our path, ARMENPRESS reports President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian said in his speech at the “Summit of minds” in Dilijan.

President Sarkissian compared the “Summit of minds” with Noah’s ark, which gave a new start. “When I personally look at the new world, I see signs of flood in many places, I see signs of flood in our behavior, how we act, what we do with the nature. All these reminds that there are signs of flood and we do something wrong. We mistreat nature. Looking at global politics, we see there are huge uncertainties in the world connected with the future of Europe, connected with the Brexit, in the USA - connected with the upcoming elections, in the Middle East and many other places. Today the world is full of new ideas or those coming from ancient times. Lots of populism, fake news, misunderstanding. Finally, what will happen to the world? We lose more and more trust, lose the ability of dialogue. In this sense, the “Summit of minds” is like a small ark. Today it’s not the Noah’s ark, it’s an Armenian ark, where people come to discuss how to save the planet”, the President said.

According to Sarkissian, it’s very important for Armenia to hear what the world says, to ask the “Summit of minds” what’s going on in this world, what to do and how to do, where are we moving to and what we can do as the Republic of Armenia. The President noted that those are global issues but are also connected with Armenia, since it’s very important to understand where the world goes and where it will be in 20-30 years and it’s very important for Armenia to have its own a program and path and understand what and how to do.

In the words of Armen Sarkissian, the “Summit of minds” is a think tank that thinks about the future of the planet. He noted that it always took place in a wonderful place, in Chamonix city. The President said that it’s a great honor for him to be able to persuade Thierry Malleret and other partners to hold it in Armenia.

Among the participants of the event are French Prime Minister (2005-2007) Dominique de Villepin, United States National Security Advisor at Obama administration, retired United States Marine Corps general James Jones, Special Presidential Representative for International Cultural Cooperation and Ambassador at Large Mikhail Shvydkoy,  Director of Investment and Enterprise at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) James Zhan, Former UK Health Minister, Professor Ara Darzi, President of the Italian National Research Council Massimo Inguscio, Siemens CEO Jan-Marc Lischka and others.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan