President Sarkissian visited the Qatar Foundation: coinciding interests and promising cooperation

President Armen Sarkissian, who is in the State of Qatar on official visit, was today at the Qatar Foundation.

The Foundation, which is implementing significant programs in the areas of education, science, and community development, was created in 1995 by then-emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Misned. The latter is also the Chairperson of the Foundation and is actively engaged in the educational and social development processes of the country and has been playing a considerable role in the implementation of multiple national and international projects pertinent to these areas.

The President of Armenia was informed on the main areas of the Foundation’s activities and its structure, as well as the ongoing programs. It was noted that the Foundation aims "to support Qatar on its journey to a knowledge economy by unlocking human potential.” The Foundation comprises a number of institutions, including a scientific and technological park, library, Education City. Branches of some of the most prestigious international institutions, such as the Georgetown and Cornell Universities and London University college are represented at the Education City, thus creating a unique academic and scientific model. One of the well-known initiatives of the Foundation is the World International Summit for Education (WISE), which is being held since 2009. It is a global platform for presenting innovation and new approaches in the area of education.

After the tour of the Foundation, President Sarkissian met with its head and co-founder Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Misned. The latter presented to Armen Sarkissian educational and scientific programs and expressed gratitude to the President of Armenia for his participation at the opening of the World International Summit for Education initiated by the Foundation. President Sarkissian conveyed his impressions of the tour and said that the opportunities for cooperation were huge because of common and coinciding interests. The President noted that he wishes to see Armenia as an educational and scientific hub, to have a new educational system based on innovation, to be modern and inventive because the 21st century is a time of rapid changes and to achieve success it is necessary to be able to swiftly adapt to the new realities.

President Sarkissian introduced the ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow) Presidential initiative which is aimed at the development in Armenia of modern technologies and science. Noting that the project has a number of components, including a concept of science and technology city, and the museum of future, the President said that the initiative aims at becoming a platform where the Armenian and international companies, research centers and universities would cooperate and implement jointly scientific projects. President Sarkissian said that the Foundation of Qatar could also be an interesting partner in the framework of this project.

The parties concurred that potential and opportunities for cooperation were huge and agreed to create a working group to establish areas of cooperation.