A jubilee congress of Union of Information Technologies Enterprises (UITE), dedicated to the organization’s 10th anniversary, takes place in Yerevan. Congratulating the Union on behalf of the government, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan noted that UITE is a serious partner of the state, with which a dialogue can be established. “2009 turned to be a critical year – despite a reduction in GDP, a 17% growth was recorded in the IT field. And it referred not only to the scope of services, but also to the growth in companies’ number. This means that our joint efforts already yield results. It is important that we enjoy international organizations’ support as well,” said Tigran Sargsyan.

He noted that despite a significant growth in the IT field over recent years, the field representatives are unhappy with the low rate of reforms. Mr. Sargsyan promised that the existing problems will be overcome due to cooperation with the government. Specifically, he referred to the Law on Control over Export of Dual-Purpose Goods, which was amended recently and caused discontent of UITE. According to the Prime Minister, the government jointly with representatives of the field will try to do so that the security regime does not hamper IT development in the country.

UITE CEO Karen Vardanyan stated that primary goals of the organization include assistance to the newly established organizations, enlargement of the Union’s services, introduction of a center on Internet-traffic exchange, as well as education in the IT field. He noted that in 2010 they plan to develop a concept on the IT field development and to improve the organizational level of ArmTech exhibition.

Around 150 representatives of the Armenian government, ministries and agencies, as well as international organizations and IT-companies participate in the congress.

Union of Information Technologies Enterprises NGO has been representing interests of enterprises in the field of information and telecommunication technologies since 2000. The Union has been founded by private IT-companies of Armenia. According to most recent data, it unites 40 companies.