Monday, April 8 2019 21:05

ArmInfo. President of Armenia  Armen Sarkissian took part in discussions on the topic <New energy  for Middle East> as part of the World Economic Forum dedicated to the  Middle East and North Africa in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the  press service of the Armenian President informs.

During his speech, Armen Sarkissian stressed the importance of using  renewable energy sources, along with the use of nuclear energy.  <Armenia, like many countries, has a strictly balanced energy  portfolio, starting with nuclear power plants. This station, built in  the times of the Soviet Union, functioned normally over the years,  and steadfastly withstood two earthquakes, "he said.  However, he  touched upon and water as a source of energy. <All countries that  have talked about the presence of rich natural resources are rich in  sun, wind, oil, but not water. Meanwhile, water is extremely  important, because in 50-100 years it will become a source of energy,  "he stressed.  Noting that Armenia is part of the Middle East, the  president noted that despite the fact that the country does not have  oil and gas, it is rich in water. "However, unfortunately, we use  10-20% of water, and we spend the rest of it," he said.

The head of state said that if no drastic steps were taken, the  transition from coal to renewable energy sources would be too long,  and during this time people will be able to damage the environment  and the climate, which will not be passive, but will cause droughts,  water shortages, an increase in desert areas, the occurrence of a  tsunami will create problems with food.

<We must try to find solutions that will be based more on hydropower  and new technologies. We can not ignore nuclear energy just because  we fear it. I agree with that opinion that we do not have much time.  We should hold parallel processes - not only fight against the use of  coal, but also more efficiently use oil, gas, renewable energy, hydro  and nuclear energy, and increasingly apply new technologies, managing  data, because we have little time, "the president concluded.