YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Armenia and France have signed an agreement to cooperate in the field of science, creating opportunities for joint research and the exchange of scientists between the two countries, reported the Armenian Foreign Ministry Wednesday.
The agreement was signed in Paris on Tuesday between Armenia’s Education and Science Ministry and France’s Center of Scientific Researches. According to the agreement, the two countries will exchange scientists, conduct joint research, and work together to organize scientific conferences and seminars.
Prior to the signing of the agreement, the Chairman of Armenia’s State Commission on Science, Samvel Harutyunian held talks with CNRS President Catherine Brechignac and its Director General Arnold Migus. The two sides welcomed the agreement, describing it as a long overdue move that will make official the longstanding relationship between the two countries in the field. They also noted the importance of cooperating in the fields of molecular physics, chemistry, and mathematics.
France is the third country with which Armenia has signed such an agreement with. The National Center of Scientific Researches is a state scientific research institute, operating under the French Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The center’s 2008 budget in 2008 totaled 3.277 billion euros. The Center annually hosts 5 000 foreign scientists in its different laboratories. It has 85 cooperation agreemen’s with 60 countries around the world, including Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.