During the June 17 meeting, the Armenian government approved the conclusion of international experts' commission on re-equipment of Yerevan Physics Institute into national research laboratory.
Armenian Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan said that the commission described the national laboratory as center of superiority in the nuclear physics. “It will be unique in the region, with an accelerator operating and theory of physics studied there,” he said, adding that the laboratory management will be determined through a competition, with one year term and possible prolongation for another three years, if approved by the International Permanent Consultative Committee.
For his part, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan expressed gratitude to international experts, who have significantly contributed to the establishment of such institution in Armenia. Mr. Sargsyan noted that this experience will also be used in other fields.
Director of Yerevan Physics Institute Ashot Chilingaryan stressed that around AMD 570mln are foreseen for the transformation of the institute into national laboratory, while around $100mln are required for the entire project on development of a new infrastructure of nuclear medicine in it, including $50-70mln for the accelerator (cyclotron) construction.
"The creation of nuclear physics infrastructure is innovation in medicine," Chilingaryan said.
