Remarks by President Serzh Sargsyan at the meeting with the schoolchildren and students of excellent academic record and prize-winners of the Olympiads

Dear Friends,

I am glad to have this meeting with you today and I am extremely pleased to welcome you at the Presidential Palace.

After being elected President of the Republic of Armenia in 2008, I promised to hold meetings with the medal winner graduates of the schools and medals winners of the international science Olympiads. Please be assured that no matter how busy I am and regardless of the number of small and large problems to be addressed, I will keep my word and every year I will be meeting with the young people because on one hand you deserve it, on the other hand I constantly receive positive impulses from these meetings. Today, you are my personal guests. In this hall, we hold meetings with foreign dignitaries. We hold receptions for them right here but trust me, today’s meeting is not less important. You are the future of our country, you are the heroes of our times, and our country needs such heroes, really needs them.

I always speak with pride about you with my interlocutors. Have no doubt that our country will do everything so that science and education in Armenia flourish. Couple of months ago, I instructed the government of the Republic to take measures to ensure that each student of good performance is not deprived of the right to receive education because of his or her difficult social situation. This year, a number of such programs have already been launched. These are programs which are general, envisages for all; programs which are already working for the socially disadvantaged students.

This meeting is not just a formal meeting. This meeting is a policy. Education is one of the most important areas for our country’s development, not less important than the army. You represent our country abroad, you glorify our name. And all those who want to compete with us should rather compete in the area of education. All those who speak about the collapse of Armenia’s education system should rather open their eyes wide, prick up their ears and observe our success.

You have already won eleven medals at the science Olympiads – one silver and ten bronze, which is exactly as many as your peers from Georgia and Azerbaijan combined. I am confident that we are yet to register success in the area of astronomy, and I want us together to wish success to our young people.

Well done! Thank you, trust me you’ve made a great job; last year as well as this year, we have registered outstanding results.

I would like to thank the participants of the Kazan Student Games who have won ten medals. Never before in our modern history have we been able to win so many medals at the Student Games.

I would like to recognize all those graduates who this year graduated with gold medals. It is gratifying that secondary education in Armenia is developing not only in Yerevan, as many would say, but also in our regions. It is testified to by the increased number of the medal recipients not only in Yerevan but also in Goris, Sisian, Hrazdan, Gyumri. It is great. Be assured that the process will go on.

I would also like to recognize our youngsters-winners of the Kangaroo competition who are your successors indeed. I wish you don’t stop there. This is the first steady step toward your bright future and the process should go on. Learning is an incessant process. Even after graduating from a higher education establishment, one should continue to study, to read constantly and not only professional literature. You are the worthy representative of the small nation which has great history and culture. You ought to be ingenious in your education, with diverse knowledge; you ought to be very different from others. Otherwise, we all, our nation will not have the future which our ancestors dreamed about and for which many sacrificed their lives.

I believe in you. I believe in you and wish that next time we meet in this hall in a different status. As you know we have the Lyus Foundation in Armenia, which is providing financing to the Armenian students who study in ten best educational establishments of the world. Every year, I meet with them too. This year, I met with them several weeks ago. They are brilliant young people, really brilliant. I wish that some time later you and others like you be present here as the recipients of the Lyus Foundation fellowships, and we speak of other topics. I also wish that we meet again in this hall when you’ve already become the recipients of the Presidential Award for young scientists. You will not even notice how quick the time will pass and if you keep on this tempo, you will move our country forward. Believe me, in a little while you, who sit here today or those like you will become the leadership of this country – high ranking state officials.