Monday, October 7 2019 11:38

ArmInfo. October 7 At the JCC Karen Demirchyan hosted the opening ceremony of the 23rd World IT Congress (WCIT-2019), which brought together more than 2500  participants from 70 countries.

"I hope that WCIT-2019 will change a lot in Armenia's relations with  the technological world," he said in his welcoming speech during  opening ceremony of the plenary session of the forum Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He emphasized that the Congress is a good  opportunity to talk with the international community about the  strategy of transforming Armenia into a country of high-tech  industry.  In his speech, the Prime Minister also recalled the velvet  revolution that took place in the country last year, which, according  to him, managed to take place thanks to decentralization, after which  Armenia became the center of democracy.

<After this political revolution, we are at the stage of the economic  revolution, which also happens due to decentralization. Because we  consider the personal initiative and efforts of our citizens as the  basis of the economic revolution, "the prime minister said.

He also noted that the RA economy showed impressive growth in the  first 7 months of this year - by 7%, tourism - by 13%, export of  medium-level IT products - increased 40.9%, and high-tech - by 34.4%.  "This all inspires confidence that the technological revolution will  follow the economic revolution, and we will be able to make Armenia a  technological, innovative, advanced center in the world," Pashinyan  said.

He noted that this goal is very real, in view of the numerous  achievements of Armenians in the international arena, in particular  in the field of technology. In this regard, he recalled the  inventions of Hovhannes Ghukasyan (Lukasevich) (kerosene lamp),  Christopher Ter-Serobyan (green dollar), Gabrell Kazanchyan (hair  dryer), Stepan Sepanyan (mechanical concrete mixer), Hovhannes  Adamayan (algorithm for color TV image), Asatur Safaryan (automatic  transmission), Luther Gevorg Simidzyan (ATM), MIGcontractor Mikoyan  planes, academician Yuri Hovhannisyan - creator of the new chemical  element and many others.  "The fact that our many compatriots have  registered serious goals gives us confidence to believe that Armenia  will become one of the important technological centers of the world,"  Pashinyan emphasized.  In this regard, he recalled the privileges  that were initiated by the government to stimulate the development of  start-up companies in the field of IT. In particular, he said, until  2023, IT beginners are exempt from paying income tax, and the income  tax rate for them is 10%. "As a result, over the past 7 years, the IT  sector of Armenia has grown 5 times, and an average growth of 20-25%  is recorded annually," he noted.  The prime minister stressed that  today the authorities have set themselves the task of seriously  developing education in the country, which should, according to him,  become a national way of life. <Everyone in our country should never  stop learning. The professional level and educational qualifications,  starting from the Prime Minister and ending with the system operator,  should be improved daily. We believe that we can make Armenia a haven  for talented people>, the head of government emphasized.

Recall that WCIT 2019 will be held in Yerevan on October 6-9, 2019.  The congress is held by Armenia with the assistance and under the  high patronage of the RA government. The World Congress on  Information Technology (WCIT) was established by the World Alliance  for Information Technology and Services (WITSA).