VivaCell-MTS joints Union of ICT Employers

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s leading telecommunications operator VivaCell-MTS is joining the newly-created Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technologies (UEICT).

At a joint press conference Thursday, February 25, VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian and UEICT Chairman Armen Baldryan briefed the media on current and potential areas of cooperation between the companies, aimed at accomplishing the mission of the union.

The UEICT was formed on the initiative of a number of ICT companies to present and defend the rights and interests of ICT employers. The union will enable maintaining relations between employers based on mutual respect, reflecting the emerging demands of the field in the applicable legislations, also set to foster development of small and medium businesses and encourage entrepreneurship in ICT sector.

The UEICT is committed to implementing as well as supporting programs and initiatives to develop the ICT sector in Armenia. The membership of VivaCell-MTS in the UEICT will help synergize the efforts of the members of the Union in implementing strategic projects.

To remind, VivaCell-MTS has been supporting large-scale long-term projects aimed at encouraging the development of the sector in the country. Among the successful initiatives of 2015 are the Global Award of the President of Armenia for Outstanding Contribution to Humanity through IT, the ICT educational pilot project on introducing disciplines on Microelectronics, Information Technologies and Basics of Telecommunication in high schools of Armenia, modernization of ICT educational programs in universities of Armenia, the Microelectronics Olympiad in Armenia, and other projects, worth over AMD 735 million.

Among the objectives of the union is training of specialists in ICT and ICT-related sectors, modernization of ICT educational programs in public, professional and higher education institutions in accordance with international standards, development of attractive environment for local and foreign investments, business and legal consultation.

To meet these objectives, the union will work in close collaboration with the Armenian government, local and state administrative bodies, organizations in ICT and related sectors, international agencies and institutions, as well as state, public and ICT organizations of other countries.

“Like any other player in the market, VivaCell-MTS has its own agenda, mission and vision. Our company is free to decide on its own the need for involvement, the method of participation and the volume of contribution to strategic projects aimed at the development of ICT sector in Armenia. Tracing back the long-term national projects implemented with the support and participation of VivaCell-MTS, we can say that important milestones can be achieved more effectively while working in synergy. Putting together each ICT company’s competitive advantage gives a multiplier effect,” Yirikian said.

“Within a short period of time the Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technologies has proven its efficiency as an institution uniting ICT companies, presenting the rights of ICT employers and providing training of specialists. The membership of VivaCell-MTS in the UEICT is both honorable and obliging. It will help synergize the efforts of ICT employers in implementing the projects of the Union. The UEICT is willing to cooperate with all organizations which share the aim of defending the rights of employers in ICT and related sectors and contribute to the long-term development of ICT in Armenia as a serious player in the international market,” Baldryan said, in turn.