Armenia needs new law on stimulating IT sphere - minister

YEREVAN, April 17. /ARKA/. A new law on IT is being developed in Armenia, which will not only take into account the factor of Russians who relocated to Armenia after the war in Ukraine, but also stimulate the development of the sector as a whole, Minister of High Technologies Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan said.

In an interview with Armenia's Public Television, he pointed out that in 2022-2023, the country recorded a leapfrog growth in the IT sphere due to a series of known factors - among them, the arrival of Russians  and the opening of a number of new IT companies in the country.

"Not all newcomers consider Armenia as a place of permanent residence. Armenia is considered a transit technological country in some respects, which is natural and was expected. Now there is a noticeable drop in the growth rate of the sphere. This is a kind of "red signal" for us and some newcomers, not considering Armenia as a permanent place of residence, may move to other countries with more favorable conditions for IT development," Hayrapetyan noted.

"At the end of 2023, the government decided that it is necessary to propose a new legislative package, i.e. one general law, which will not only concern Russians but will also become a stimulus for the development of IT sphere. We can say that we are approaching the finish line in terms of getting a certain project," Hayrapetyan said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the IT sphere in Armenia shows a steady growth of 20% per year, which makes it one of the most dynamically developing sectors of the country. He noted that Armenian companies are well known in the international arena in the spheres of software, development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, information security, as well as innovative fintech startups.

By the end of 2023, the turnover of Armenia's IT sector exceeded AMD 640 billion (almost $1.6 billion); this corresponds to more than 7% of the GDP. According to the State Revenue Committee, the list of the 1000 largest taxpayers last year included 70 IT companies, which collectively paid about AMD 75 billion (about $190 million) in taxes. This is 44% more than a year earlier. -0-

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15:43 04/17/2024