‘This is a great tragedy’: Armen Sarkissian

President Armen Sarkissian participated today in the prestigious international conference ‘Horasis India’ via video link, delivering a speech on the theme ‘Transforming Global Governance.’ Horasis is a renowned international platform that holds major economic conferences, including the prestigious Horasis Global Meeting held in Portugal. Participants, including leaders of countries, heads of global companies and corporations, prominent experts, and scientists, discuss global challenges and issues together and strive to propose solutions. Horasis also organizes regional conferences such as ‘Horasis India,’ ‘Horasis Asia,’ and ‘Horasis China,’ with the latter set to take place in Armenia this October.

More than 400 senior participants from the Horasis Vision community attended ‘Horasis India.’ This year's conference theme focused on post-pandemic global challenges and their possible governance. Discussing the situation that has arisen in the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, President Sarkissian stated that the world is currently at a unique crossroads. ‘On one hand, the world is facing a major crisis, where we are losing hundreds of thousands of lives across different countries, including Armenia. This is a great tragedy. We are facing a significant health crisis that is taking lives, destroying economies, and relationships. And this situation will deepen. This is very bad,’ he said.

‘From the perspective of humanity, we are also living in very emotional times. For the first time, we are dealing with a world that is so interconnected. The connectivity of people is phenomenal,’ the Armenian president noted, adding that during the pandemic, Armenia received support from several countries: ‘We are grateful to all those nations that have assisted us in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic, including France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, Gulf countries, China, and others. This is also a period of friendship and cooperation not just between leaders of countries, but also among nations and governments.’

According to President Sarkissian, we must think about how to expand the planet's capacity, for instance, how to produce more food. ‘Fifty years ago, the biggest fear in the world was a hungry China or India. No one was sure that these countries could feed their billions of inhabitants. Of course, there are still poor countries today, but it has become clear that the latest technologies on this planet can solve that problem.’

‘Today we are living in a period of rapid changes. This means we can make the world a better place,’ said Armen Sarkissian. ‘On one hand, it is a tragic time; on the other, from a historical perspective, it is a remarkable period when it is clear that the future will not be classical due to our rapid developments and the great potentials humanity possesses. The world will change through new machines, robots, and artificial intelligence. We live in a completely different world, and a multitude of challenges will emerge. We will need to reevaluate many phenomena. Many areas of our lives, as I call them, are becoming quantum — starting from global risks, such as this pandemic. This pandemic has become an epidemic not because of a very specific virus, but because the world has changed. It is precisely due to this new interconnected world that the infection spreads rapidly around the globe,’ the president highlighted.

President Sarkissian emphasized that in order to confront global risks, we need to change our habits and worldview and redefine our priorities for the next 100 years. ‘This is an amazing world, in which we faced a tragedy in its interim period. At this crossroads of the world, we need to redefine our values, including democracy, whose forms of implementation today will be different tomorrow. Politicians are held accountable for their activities on a daily basis, as there is social media, and choices are made every day. Thus, there will be significant changes in our behavior,’ he said.

‘Look at the world. The institutions that are simply based on ideology — left or right, the classical institutions — are now being led by different forces, often charismatic leaders who have a direct connection with the people. Such examples can be seen all over the world — from America to Asia. Some people say that political changes occur through revolutions, but underlying all of this is the change in the world, that we are living in an entirely different world. Much of our lives are spent in the virtual world. The coronavirus loudly speaks about the change in the world, saying, ‘Wake up, the world has changed.’ We need to rethink many things. We need to consider how we manage health care, other institutions, and how we organize,’ he added.

President Sarkissian remarked that it would have been wiser to invest in health care and environmental protection before the pandemic. ‘Protecting nature is very important, as many of us understand that future pandemics will emerge due to unhealthy relationships between humans and nature. We are at a crossroads today. This is a wonderful world where we are facing tragic times. This is a new quantum world. What we had in the past was classical. This new quantum world is unpredictable, unknown, difficult, and frightening for many. For those who are willing to embrace this new world using a new logic and new philosophy, it will become the best place on the planet to live,’ he noted.

In response to questions about the current situation and how to overcome the challenges, as well as the creation of new international institutions, President Sarkissian stated that there is no need to create new institutions; we need to maintain all institutions and organizations and transform the role of existing international institutions. ‘Their powers and obligations are clear in a classical world that existed 20, 30, 40 years ago. However, in this new quantum world, we need to redefine them without dismantling these structures. We need to strengthen those organizations. Certainly, there will be a need for new ideas,’ he said.

‘For years, I have considered the idea of a club for smart or successful small countries. It aims to unite small countries that have the capacity for change, understanding, and looking towards the future. Countries in the club will exchange ideas. This club is not a coalition, economic, military, or political union, but simply a club where you can exchange information. By sharing, you can show other countries what you did well or poorly. The world is changing, and it is not necessary to be big, megabig, or have vast territories and military power. Small countries can have a say in the development of global issues, information, science, and education. There are excellent examples of business and education management from small countries. This is just a club that will show that being small can mean not just being beautiful but also powerful and successful,’ he concluded.

Wrapping up his speech, the President expressed he would be pleased to host all participants in Armenia in October for the ‘Horasis China’ conference.