Wednesday, 27 September 2017
In the field of information technology, Armenia has serious competitive advantages both in the region and as compared to other countries - PM attends opening of ArmTech 2017 global conference
Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan attended today the opening of the 10th edition of ArmTech Global Technology Forum in Armenia.
Welcoming the participants, the Prime Minister noted that this annual event is an important platform for presenting achievements in the field of information technologies, identifying new business and investment opportunities, promoting cooperation and sharing experiences.
“The Government of the Republic of Armenia, guided by the imperatives of raising the competitiveness of the economy and ensuring sustainable economic growth, highlights this sector and the need to build a knowledge-based economy. It should be noted that in recent years Armenia has made considerable progress in the field of information and high technologies and boasts all the necessary preconditions and potential to become a regional center and an important player. In the period from 2008 to 2016, the IT sector grew at an average annual rate of 20-22%, which was also conditioned by the Government’s policy. But we should not rest there; it is not the growth cap in this sphere. In my opinion, the growth rates can be much higher,’ the Prime Minister stated in his speech.
As the Prime Minister pointed out, in cooperation with the private sector, the Government of Armenia has been successfully implementing a number of projects aimed at promoting technology entrepreneurship, increasing export and investment, attracting international organizations, ensuring balanced regional development, training qualified specialists and building training capacity, which in turn is boosting Armenia’s standing on the global technological map.
“Noteworthy is the cooperation with supranational companies. Today, Armenia hosts leading IT companies such as Synopsys, Mentor Graphics, National Instruments, Microsoft, VM Ware, D-LINK, Oracle, Cisco and others. Microsoft and IBM have founded in Armenia the Microsoft Innovation Center and the Center for Innovative Solutions and Technologies. In order to give new impetus to the development of the IT industry and encourage the establishment of new companies and the creation of jobs, tax incentives are offered to emerging start-up businesses. As a result, statistics show that about 100 companies are set up annually in our country. Yet, I believe that there is room for continued grow here,” Karen Karapetyan said.
The Prime Minister stressed that the Government has the key task of training and retraining qualified specialists in the technological sector. In recent years, a number of training centers and laboratories have been established, including the Armenian National Engineering Laboratory (ANEL), the Synopsys-Armenia Educational Department, the Armenian-Indian Excellence Center and others. The balanced development of the sphere is also in focus as evidenced by the technological centers in Gyumri and Vanadzor.
“I wish to highlight the fact that the Armenian companies, operating in the information and high-tech spheres, appear to be increasingly focused on research and development. They offer complex engineering solutions, with their competitive technology solutions and products being sold on both external and internal markets. In the field of information technology, Armenia has serious competitive advantages both in the region and as compared to other countries,” the Prime Minister said, noting that the Armenian government is taking steps to develop engineering, clean technologies and other technological directions.
The Head of Government attached importance to the fact that ArmTech 2017 is being held on a very topical issue, namely cyber security. “Against the background of continued technological development, the world is facing several challenges, the solution to which can not be perceived without the solution of cyber security and information security-related issues. And the swifter we may come to be effective in this field, the faster high technologies will enter everyday life. This is true not only for the government, but also for all branches of the economy, starting from the banking system,” Karen Karapetyan said, thanking the local, transnational and international partners for regular assistance in the development of information technologies in Armenia.
“We will consistently continue the policy of developing information and high technologies in Armenia and will deepen and expand cooperation with international, transnational and local organizations in this area, which will boost the competitiveness of the sector and ensure sustainable economic growth.
Wrapping up my remarks, I want to greet you again and wish you productive work. I want our local companies to be more active and courageous, because we have declared that the government is ready to accept any reasonable, and even if necessary, revolutionary solutions. Be active also in the educational system. We have stated that we can entrust you with the management of the educational system, especially as we understand that it is one of our development bottlenecks in this field. Therefore, I wish you high spirits, good luck and fruitful work,’ Prime Minister Karapetyan concluded.
The ArmTech 2017 global conference seeks to support Armenia’s high-tech industry by promoting international business relations and increasing the volume of investment.
This year’s edition is dedicated to cyber security. The main topics are cyber security challenges and strategies, cyber threats and opportunities for the protection in the private and public sectors, the future of cyber security – the Internet of Things, artificial intellect, automation, and more.
ArmTech 2017 is expected to bring together over 200 participants. The forum is organized by RA Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology and the Enterprise Incubator Foundation.
