Annual general meeting of RA National Academy of Sciences
The Annual General Meeting was held on April 20 at the National Academy of Sciences.
Before proceeding to the agenda, the attendees of the meeting observed a minute of silence in memory of those Armenian servicemen and civilians killed in the warfare unleashed by Azerbaijan in April 2016. A minute of silence was also held to commemorate those academicians who passed away in 2015.
RA Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan welcomed the attendees of the meeting in his opening speech.
“Considering that education, science and high technology are at the heart of a modern State, the development of science and research has been set as a priority by the Government of Armenia. We have developed a clear-cut policy and our efforts will be focused on the development of science and research, addressing the problems that are faced in this field, as well as on ensuring annual increase in its funding.
Within the framework of the international agreements already signed, the Government is striving to promote close cooperation between Armenian scientists and world-renowned research centers, deepen integration with the European scientific community, including in particular Armenia’s adherence to the European Union’s Horizon 2020 science and technology program as an associate member, which is due to be signed this May,” the Prime Minister said.
Then NAS President Radik Martirosyan delivered the final report on NAS activities in 2015. It included 70 grant projects, 180 monographs, 21 manuals and textbooks, 2628 scientific articles, reports and theses, published both in national and foreign publications, as well as 82 national and international conferences, etc.
The chairman of the RA MES State Committee of Science also delivered a speech, which not only covered the actual problems of the organization of scientific activities, but also provided constructive solutions for the relevant issues arising from the current situation. "As a result of today's constructive policy of the RA Government in the field of science, despite the unfavorable conditions of public funding, a lot of distinguished scholars, involved in academic institutions, are obviously improving their performance indicators year by year, taking into account both the number and quality of the articles published in top-ranked journals. This is undoubtedly good news for us," Mr. Haroutiunian said.
The agenda of the Annual General Meeting included several reports of the representatives of scientific organizations, presentations of programs, as well as discussion of relevant problems.
The Prime Minister summed up the reports, giving instructions to relevant ministries:
“I am sure that the NAS should think about consolidating its capabilities and resources to implement structural changes aimed at optimizing the workings of our research system, defining strategic tasks and objectives, bearing in mind the need to cope with successfully.
We need to consider the science and research from the standpoint of economic development, but also from the perspective of national security. I wish to declare from this high rostrum that the Government will continue to listen to all such reasonable concern as may be voiced by the National Academy of Sciences”.