YEREVAN — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with participants of the event titled “Youth for Armenia’s Knowledge-Based Future” as part of the “Yerevan Sustainable Energy Days” initiative. Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan and Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure David Khudatyan were also in attendance.
The Prime Minister noted that the Armenian government has recently embraced the vision of economic and institutional transformation, declaring education to be the “strategy of strategies.” According to Pashinyan, solving any issue is linked to education—including the topic under discussion—since energy transformation is a leading global priority.
He stressed the importance of learning lessons from history, stating: “In my view, all of our policies and decisions in recent years—I can even name a specific date, starting from 2024, or perhaps even earlier, step by step—have been directly connected to the lessons we have drawn from our history.”
According to Pashinyan, the key historical lesson is not to repeat the past, which he described as cyclical.
“In favorable geopolitical conditions, sometimes even beyond our will, we have gained statehood because the geopolitical situation allowed it. Later, when that situation changed, again regardless of our will, we lost our statehood. In my assessment, what is today’s situation? Today, we have passed that cycle,” the Prime Minister said, adding that Armenia went through that cycle during the period 2020–2025.
“We were within that cycle—would we lose the state or not? The moment had matured. We had reached the peak of that historical cycle in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Yet in 2024, a turning point occurred. A change in the historical cycle took place: at the very moment when we were expected to lose our statehood, we did not lose it. There are even specific months, dates, and events tied to this, and if you are interested, I can share them,” Pashinyan said.
“As I have said before, something entirely different is now happening with the Republic of Armenia. Through losses and sacrifices, we have reached a point where Armenia—today, on February 12, 2026, as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow—without physically moving anywhere, is shifting from the periphery of the world toward its center. And this is the most important news I am pleased to share with you,” he added.
During the meeting, discussions focused on energy efficiency management in Armenia, construction, air pollution, educational development, and related issues. Participants’ ideas were also explored as potential urban solutions. The Prime Minister answered questions raised by attendees.
The event was organized by the Yerevan Municipality and the Yerevan Construction Investment Project Implementation Unit in cooperation with the Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency Fund of Armenia and the Covenant of Mayors East program.
