After the solemn ceremony of awarding the Order of Motherland to National Hero of Armenia Hovhannes Chekidjian, the President of Armenia met with intelligentsia representatives at the Presidential Palace.
Noting that he had had several occasions to meet with intelligentsia representatives during the past few years, the President once again stressed the role and mission of the intelligentsia in the public life of our country and suggested talking about Armenia and its future in an open and informal atmosphere, especially as Armenia was about to shift to a new system of governance following the constitutional reform. The Head of State said he expected the meeting participants to present their views, suggestions and concerns about the country’s current status.
The participants of the meeting stressed the importance of meetings and discussions held in such a format, talked about their views on the future of Armenia and the emerging challenges, including the great role that art can play in terms of educating youth and upbringing good citizens, preserving the purity of the Armenian language and a number of other issues.
The President answered the questions of interest to the intellectuals, which mainly bore on defense, security and foreign policy. The participants of the meeting wanted to know President Sargsyan’s vision of Armenia’s next President in his capacity of a person and political leader, who had held several responsible posts in the country, faced many challenging situations, including the sorrow of the war.
Presenting his views on the future President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan noted that he or she should be a person with appropriate service record, highly appreciated both inside the country and abroad, who can represent Armenia in the proper manner on international platforms, that is, fulfill representative functions both inside and outside the country.
According to Serzh Sargsyan, the future President should speak foreign languages, have broad connections and boast perfect reputation both in the Diaspora and in Armenia and, most importantly, he or she must be an impartial person, not involved in politics nor affiliated to a political party.