ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER PROPOSES MICROSOFT TO PARTICIPATE IN DIGITEC-2006 EXHIBITION TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN IN AUTUMN

Noyan Tapan
May 17 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian Prime Minister proposed
that the Microsoft Company should participate in the events to be
held within the framework of IT Month in September-October 2006,
including in the international exhibition Digitec 2006. Andranik
Margarian made this proposal on May 16 when receiving Microsoft Deputy
Chairman Vahe Torosian, accompanied by the company’s Director General
in CIS countries Sergyush Viza, Director for Business Management
and Strategy Paul MacLeston and the newly appointed Director
of the Microsoft Armenia Office Grigor Barseghian. A. Margarian
welcomed Microsoft’s willingness to assist with development of the
Armenian IT sector. Underlining the need for the most extensive use
of information technologies in various sectors of the economy, the
prime minister attached importance to the full presentation of the
company’s production and services in Armenia. Stressing the need for
creation of Microsoft Windows Vista/Windows XP/ MS Office software
versions in Armenian, the completion of which is scheduled for 2007, A.
Margarian at the same time expressed his concern about the issue of
translation of Armenian terms: according to him, most computer terms
do not have their equivalents in Armenian. He said that the Armenian
government expects Microsoft to make these terms accessible in the
Internet in order to allow various sections of the society to express
their opinion about these terms’ use in translation, as well as the
government expects Microsoft to take appropriate measures in order to
involve as many citizens as possible in this discussion. Vahe Torosian
considered it as a great honor that he, an Armenian, will be useful
for Armenia by offering the capacities of Microsoft – the company he
represents for the purpose of developing the country’s economy. He
expressed a high opinion about qualified Armenian experts of the IT
sector, pointing out that intellectual potential allows to fulfil
Microsoft’s innovation-based ideology.

According to the RA Government Information and PR Department, during
the meeting the sides addressed the problem of copyright protection
in Armenia, particularly the use of unlicensed packages of Microsoft
software, as well as the company’s participation in implementation
of educational programs in Armenia, the fulfilement of the idea of
e-government and some other issues of mutual interest.