Armenia is a major international “port” in the ocean of global data

“I assess the meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe as positive. We agreed to work together to organize the Armenian-Japanese business forum. Most probably, it will take place in Japan to better present Armenia to Japan and Japanese entrepreneurs,” President Armen Sarkissian said responding to the question of the journalist of Shant TV company on the results of his working visit to Japan.

The President noted that to work together, we need first to know each other, ”We know them better because of the Japanese products, ranging from automobiles, big mechanical devices to the latest electronic innovations, you can find all this in Armenia. Thus, the forum will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the Armenian scientific and industrial potential here, primarily in the areas of mathematical modeling, management of large volumes of information, and artificial intelligence,” the President of Armenia underscored. “Interest toward cooperation is mutual. And interest of the Japanese side is greater than I expected. There is interest because the world in changing. In this world many things will not be the same and everyone understands that new approaches are required, new markets and new partnerships should be built. In this regard, Armenia certainly has great opportunities.”

In achieving results, President Sarkissian stressed the importance of being patient, work every day and be consistent: one shouldn’t meet a person and then forget about him.

Speaking of the avenues for the country’s success, President brought the example of Singapore and vision as a factor in the country’s success. “It means to see where you are taking the country, then have a precise plan, decide what steps should be taken to get there. After that, it is necessary to have a good governance system and people who can implement that program. It is also necessary to maintain discipline, including psychological, not to get discouraged by failures, and move forward,” the President underscored. Another factor of Singapore’s or Hong Kong’s success is the fact that these are harbor-cities which became also trade hubs. Armenia has no access to the sea but can become a new port of information and large amount of data. If we are able to make Armenia a harbor in the ocean of information which will receive large amounts of data and release it after processing, distributing it all over the world, we will be successful, and will be performing exactly the same functions which large ports have been performing since Middle Ages as transportation crossroads.”

Responding to the question on what to do so that technologies don’t lead to isolation but are used rather as crossroads, President Sarkissian observed that new technologies require serious attention; we should not view ourselves as the smartest in the world or endowed with everything. “We should be modest, with understanding that there is much to be done and that we have way too little yet. Yes, it is true we have potential which we can utilize and be proud of, or the opposite, leave it unused and remain at the level of consumers,” he said. “In that case, we will be speaking of unfulfilled opportunities; it is the worst thing in the world to realize that you had the opportunity and missed it.”

The President stressed also the importance of human contacts viewing them as a precious source of success, problem solution, dialogue, and advancement. “I believe it is essential to maintain and amplify tolerance and respect we have toward each other in a daily life, making it part of our culture. It is also important we are able to transfer the same relations into virtual world,” he said and added, “Japanese, I trust, are pretty advanced on that because in this country on every step you see responsibility, discipline. This is the main source of Japan’s success of the last 70-80 years – respect toward the state, native culture, nation, one’s own work, toward each other and the family.”