One of the most popular top-managers in the world, President and CEO of Renault and Nissan, Head of the Renault-Nissan Alliance Carlos Ghosn was in Armenia last weekend by the invitation of businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan.

Lebanese Carlos Ghosn born in Brazil became famous for orchestrating one of the most aggressive downsizing campaigns allowing to lead Nissan out of the deep crisis it used to face.

Carlos Ghosn paid a visit to Dilijan, visited the monastic complexes of Haghartsin and Geghard, Garni Temple, Matenadaran, Cafesjian Center for the Arts and Yerevan Brandy Company.

Before leaving Armenia, Carlos Ghosn kindly agreed to answer Mediamax’s questions.

“As you know, I am of Lebanese origin - there is a strong Armenian community in Lebanon and I was already familiar with the Armenian food, habits and the language. I also have a lot of Armenian friends in many countries. But this was my first visit to the country and my impressions were very different from what I was expecting.

First, the city of Yerevan is much more modern than I was expecting. I visited the downtown thoroughly, including the Republic Square area and the museums area. The Gafesjian Museum is really very nice. I was also looking at all the buildings, nice apartments, coffee shops and the restaurants. And there are a lot of young people. So the city is much more vibrant than I used to think.

The second element I was much surprised by is the diversity. We went to Dilijan and there is a moment when you enter the tunnel and after it the landscape completely changes and you find yourself in practically a different country.

The third element, which I already knew and suspected, is the involvement of the Armenian Diaspora in the development of the country. I have sensed the fact there is a lot of care to try to train and support the new Armenian generation, so it can be up to the task of the challenge of the development of the country and the economy.  I saw impressive projects realized in Armenia by Diaspora representatives”, said Carlos Ghosn.

The full text of the interview is available on Mediamax.am website.