UITE strategy questioned by experts

YEREVAN, April 11. / ARKA /. In the next five years Armenia should join the top 20 hi-tech countries, Hayk Chobanyan, the deputy executive director of the Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE), claimed today when presenting UITE’s strategy for 2014-2018.

According to him, Armenia has all the necessary prerequisites to achieve this objective- a substantially high share of hi-tech sector in the overall GDP, a favorable business environment, quality education, high level of foreign investment in high-tech sector and a steady annual growth.

However, the strategy’s feasibility was questioned by Bagrat Yengibaryan, the director of Enterprisea Incubator Foundation (EIF), who said the strategy does not specify the ways to achieve these goals.

"If the strategy is not based on a road map, it will be another ambitious strategy on paper» he said.
Synopsys Armenia CEO, Hovik Musayelyan, said the figures presented in the strategy do not seem realistic.

"It turns out that in 5 years we are going to become one of the most developed countries of the world, despite the fact that today Armenia is struggling for existence. We want to join the top 20 hi-tech countries, whereas no Armenian university is among the best 3000 universities in the world. I think this strategy ignores entirely the current realities,” he added.

Armenia’s hi-tech sector has been posting 20-25 % growth annually for many years in a row. Last year it surged by another 22 percent. Its share in GDP in 2010 amounted to about 5 %, but then it fell to 2 percent in 2013. -0-

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18:54 04/11/2014