On 6 October the 23rd World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2019) opened in Yerevan and will last for three days, reported news.am.

WCIT is the signature event of the World Information Technology & Services Alliance (WITSA). In previous years, WCIT the was hosted by Brasília, Taipei and India’s Hayderabad.

Over 2,500 participants from 70 countries are attending this year’s Congress. This year, WCIT will address ‘The Power of Decentralization: Promise and Peril’ and explore how information and communications technology is transforming our lives for better and for worse, and its impact on profits and prosperity, safety and security, democracy and humanity. The conference will include topics such as: Artificial Intelligence, E-health, climate change, internet of things (IoT), E-Commerce, smart cities, national digital agendas, impact of information communication technologies (ICT) in education, startups and incubators, digital inclusion and equality, FinTech, connecting the next billion, decentralization, cybersecurity, and women in technology.

The Congress is hosted in Armenia with the support and under the high patronage of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and the main organizing body is the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE).

The World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) was founded in 1978 and is the leading consortium of ICT industry association members from over 80 countries/economies around the world. WITSA’s members represent more than 90 percent of the world ICT market. As the leading recognized voice of the global ICT industry, WITSA aims to drive transformation and grow the industry given that ICT is the key driver of the global economy by: advocating international public policies that advance the industry’s growth and development; facilitating international trade and investment in ICT products and services through our global network of contacts; promoting industry cooperation and strengthening our national associations through the sharing of knowledge, experience, and critical information; working closely with internationally recognized organizations to promote and facilitate growth; awarding signature events ‐ such as the WCIT ‐ to member countries from around the world; and organizing Global ICT Excellence Awards to recognize outstanding ICT users.

“We are in the phase of economic revolution which is taking place thanks to decentralization. The economy of our country is registering impressive growth, as of now we have a 7% economic growth,” Pashinyan, said, voicing hope that it all will be followed by the technological revolution which will result in making Armenia one of the innovative technological centers,” said the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the opening ceremony. He also stressed that tax privileges have been set for newly created technological companies in his country. “They are freed from profit tax and pay just 10% income tax by 2023,” he stated.

The Government of Armenia has declared IT as one of its strategic areas of focus. The country's legislation created favourable conditions for foreign direct investments in the IT sector. Furthermore, consistent efforts are made to promote the development of high-tech innovations, ecosystems, and start-ups in the industry. Armenia is a home to over 900 ICT companies, including PicsArt, Renderforest, Softconstruct, and Joomag.

According to the website export.gov. Armenia has maintained its competitive advantage in technology development as a known hub for software development, industrial computing, electronics, and production of semiconductors. The sector has remained significant in the Armenian economy due to a competitive labor force, its share of GDP, constant growth in the number of companies, and total turnover. In 2017, export of IT products from Armenia increased by 57.8% reaching to $338.5 mln., with the main sources of investment coming from the USA and Canada (36.4%), the EU (28.5%), Russia and CIS (15.5%).  The highest registered demand in 2017 stemmed from Australia and Asian countries.  Armenian ICT companies specialize in embedded software development and semiconductor design, customized software and outsourcing, financial software, multimedia, web design, information systems, and system integration. Armenia has made significant gains in semiconductor design, which are registered as Intellectual Property.

With the support of the World Bank, the Ministry of Economy established the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) to improve the competitiveness of Armenian IT firms in the global marketplace and to assist Armenian firms in attracting investors.