President gave a lecture to the students of the YSU Oriental Studies Department through video conferencing: if we, as a state and a nation, are organized and have strict discipline, we will be successful

President Armen Sarkissian gave a lecture through video conferencing and applying distant learning to the students of the Oriental Studies Department of the Yerevan State University.

The President greeted the students and said, “This lecture is taking me back to the years when I was a young lecturer at the University and was enjoying each of my classes, was meeting with students. At the same time, starting from the end of 1970s and in the 80s, I was conducting classes of Physics on the Armenian TV.”

Armen Sarkissian started the lecture with the burning issue of the new coronavirus and noted in particular, “I am confident that we will contain this virus and it depends on us how efficiently we will do it. I believe, there are three main components related to it: first and foremost, we need to plan our lives. In this situation, when we have to spend much time at home and social life will be mostly virtual, not only the government, the state, its structures, but also each of you need to plan your life to make it full and interesting.”

President Sarkissian said that the number of viruses and bacteria on the planet is very big and willy-nilly we need to live with them. 

“Some of them will be suppressed lest they stand in our way, because bacteria play a very important role in our life and also we have to learn how to contain viruses. The cost of victory depends on us, on how organized and disciplined we are. Responsibility is important too. The mode of our fight should be discipline and social distance. I urge once again to uphold the principles which are listed in the government’s decision. Do more if you can but not less.”

Coming back to Oriental studies, President Sarkissian said that it is a great science which encompasses huge geography; however, as the topic of the lecture of the day he picked up the Middle East. “Why? This question will be your homework,” the President said. “Why do you think the Middle East is important in general, for large states and for the countries like ours. I suggest you write your homework and send it to homework1@president.am։ I appeal not only to you but to the Departments of Oriental Studies and International Relations, to other universities, to young Armenians abroad, who on social distance have got some time to ponder over the role of the Middle East. The best works will receive Presidential award.”

Carrying on with his analyses, the President said that the world in which we live, is not classical any longer but rather of a quantum nature and in this quantum world interesting processes happen. “We have entered a new century, a century of huge changes. The bipolar world changed, became unipolar, and it is changing again. Related to all these changes I have a question – what’s the role of small states?” the President asked. “Since we are a small state, the question is – can we conduct active policies and not only establish our presence but also be confident in our steps? In a due course, can small be not only beautiful but also powerful and strong?”

Let’s have a look on some of minor states close to the Middle East. I personally, also as President, last year visited some of them. In particular, recently I visited Israel. It was important for me to attend the 75th Holocaust commemoration events. Besides, it was also important during official events, in Knesset and during my meetings with the president of that country to state that the time has come for the State of Israel to recognize the Armenian Eghern. It is critical because Israel is a small state but global nation which has great influence in different countries of the world.

Pursuit of justice in this case in not just for historical truth. When we say that the Eghern must be recognized in the entire world, it is not only about the horrendous tragedy we went through. In a sense, the recognition of the Eghern for our nation and our state is an element of security, just as the recognition of the Holocaust by different countries constitutes a security element for Israel.

The next country, I would like to talk about, is Qatar – a small country, which, if I am not mistaken, has the greatest reserves of gas in the world and formed a certain new kind of situation in which a small country, which possesses great financial and natural resources, established itself as an independent factor, which is pretty influential not only in the Middle East but in the entire region. Being well-aware of Qatar’s current situation, I have come to the same conclusion that if a given state has some value (in this case, it is natural resource) and the resource is utilized properly, that country is advancing towards the future.

The next similar country is Jordan. A country, which is neighboring Israel, which unlike Qatar, doesn’t possess natural resources and has water problems, a huge number of refugees from Palestine, has been able to position itself properly and maintains good relations with many, became a country which has a value and became a player. Jordan of today has a modern army, considerable influence, a relatively large economy and even a small country, it is a major international factor nevertheless. Jordan is the country where the Global Economic Forum holds a meeting every year. This is an example of being small but influential.

The next is United Arab Emirates. I visited it several times last year, have cordial relations with the leadership which have strengthened even further. You know well that Qatar and UAE are not on good-neighborly terms and those contradictions create problems for many, whom to befriend. But for a small country like ours, the solution is very simple: we will be friends with both, maintain relations and not only political. They can be our partners in different areas. The UAE, which possesses great natural resources, has done huge investments in the area of modern technologies. Abu Dhabi today has engaged vigorously in the development of modern technologies, ranging from artificial intelligence to extraterrestrial research, biology, etc.

Today, Israel and Qatar, UAE and Jordan can be our partners because they have advanced scientific and research environment.

These examples suffice to prove that it is not necessary to be a big country. One can be small and influential. Just like Israel, Armenia is a country which is not rich in natural resources but possesses human resource. We are one of those unique countries which are small but global. If we, as a state and as a nation, have a precise strategy on where we are headed to, if we are organized and strictly disciplined on the state and national levels, if we are responsible also as individuals, I believe, we will be successful.”

Responding on-line to the questions of students, President Sarkissian said in particular that each country needs to decide for itself what are its advantages. “Our advantage is our human capital, people should be creative, gifted, enthusiastic and should know for sure where they are headed to, should be organized, disciplined, and responsible. If we put these fundamental factors into motion, our small state can become powerful and influential. This responsibility is not just for the state, government, and ministries but also for your because each of you is our future leader. You need to start today and believe that the country can become strong through your input.

My all visits are not just regular visits; I have visited all the mentioned countries many time as a free man. Now, I am visiting them to use and employ my personal connections for the benefit of our country, to achieve the goal of making the small state a powerful one.”