YEREVAN. – Armenian President Armen Sarkissian received today the Ambassador of Finland Arya Makkonen (diplomatic residence in Helsinki). Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned this from the press service of the presidential administration.

The President said that the two countries have great opportunities to develop mutually beneficial cooperation. "We have a lot in common, and we can learn a lot from each other," he said.

The interlocutors touched upon the possibilities of cooperation between the presidential institutions of the two countries. President Sarkissian suggested considering in this regard the possibility of cooperation between the two countries' presidential structures. The President said that his goal is to have a strong and well-established presidential institute in Armenia that is established under parliamentary governance and to create traditions.

Noting that Finland has made great progress in new technologies, the President said that development of this field is a priority for Armenia as well. President Sarkissian said that the Presidential institute has its own technology development initiative called ATOM, which aims to bring international information and high technology companies to Armenia where they can develop artificial intelligence, mathematical modeling, and more. He said they would be happy to see Finnish companies, among other technology partners, on this platform as well.