President received heads of delegations participating at the New Challenges of Public Health Conference

President Serzh Sargsyan received today heads of delegations participating at the International Ministerial Conference titled New Challenges of Public Health which is being held in Yerevan on March 1-2. Present at the meeting were the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Veronica Skvortsova, Minister of Health and Medical Education of Iran Hassan Hashemi, Minister of Labor, Health and Social Issues of Georgia David Sergeenko, Minister of Health of the Republic of Belarus Vasiliy Zharko, and Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development of Kazakhstan Elzhan Birtanov.

The President of Armenia welcomed the guests to our country and stressed the importance of the Yerevan Conference on the modern issues and challenges of public health. Underscoring that public health all over the world is viewed as one of vital factors of national security, as well as one of the primary indicators of the countries’ successful social and economic policy, Serzh Sargsyan noted that in the contemporary world problems of public health recognize no boundaries: new viruses and epidemics are not confined within a state and today they pose the most serious threat to the peoples in every country. According to the President, such problems can be efficiently solved only through a closer cooperation, exchange of special experience, by sharing success and achievements with the partners which is exactly what the Ministerial Conference in Yerevan is convened for.

The participants of the meeting thanked the Armenian authorities and in the person of the RA Minister of Health Armen Muradian the officials of the health care system of Armenia for creating such an important platform for discussions and invitation to participate in the forum. They noted that in the area of public health the field for cooperation is extensive and there are many still unutilized opportunities. The guests stressed with satisfaction that at the Yerevan Conference there have been made pretty interesting and useful reports, presented were facts and references have been made to the programs implemented in the participating states based on best practices. Discussed were also reforms conducted in this area, existing problems and challenges. According to the Ministers, cooperation in this format will considerably promote relations and cooperation between the representatives of the area and will give an impetus to the development of health care.