Tonight, at the Presidential Palace there took place the ceremony of bestowing the 2015 RA Presidential Award for the global contribution in the area of information technology. After the ceremony, a reception was held to honor the winner of the award, the world famous expert of cyber security, Director General of Kaspersky Lab – one of the leading private companies in that area, Eugene Kaspersky and his spouse Khu Shirong.

The Chairman of the Executive Council of the Award Committee of the World Information Technologies (WIT) Hovik Musaelian in his speech presented the achievements and dynamics of the IT area in Armenia – one of the most vigorously developing branches which has also been creating the highest added value. He underscored that in recent years, this sector has grown by 20-25 percent and its specific weight is close to 3% of the GDP. Hovik Musaelian spoke also about the cooperation of the Armenian government and the private sector which allows to implement initiatives aimed at the further development of the IT area. He presented in detail the prehistory of the RA Presidential Award for the global contribution in the IT area which was established by the executive order of the President, the guiding principles of the award committee and the international selection commission, mentioned the individuals who have already received this prestigious award and introduced the winner of this year’s award Eugene Kaspersky.

President Serzh Sargsyan handed the award to Eugene Kaspersky. At the reception which was held in honor of the winner of the award the President of Armenia made a statement.

During the event, the recipient of the award Eugene Kaspersky spoke the words of gratitude, “I am doing everything I can. I am motivating my employees and my company so that they do everything they can so that we become the best performers of this job in the world. I believe that we do this job better than anyone else in the world. It is my life, my destiny, my mission. I am very grateful to the President of Armenia, I thank the commission which has decided to bestow me with this award, and I am grateful to the sponsors who assisted in the organization of this event. I promise that I will work even better. We must save this world, not just the cyber world but the entire world since there is no longer a difference between the physical world and cyber space. They are intertwined, and we must create working systems and conditions which will allow to eliminate cyber attacks; they are problems that we simply do not need. I will do everything I can to make it a reality. This award is a very serious impetus for such a work. Thank you very much,” said the Director General of Kaspersky Lab Mr. Eugene Kaspersky.

Remarks of President Serzh Sargsyan at the ceremony of bestowing the RA Presidential Award for the global contribution to the IT area

Dear Mr. Kaspersky,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I salute you and welcome you at the Presidential Palace.

I was very pleased to carry out this enjoyable task – to hand to Mr. Kaspersky the 2015 RA Presidential Award for the global contribution to the IT area.
There is no need to make a special introduction of Mr. Kaspersky and Kaspersky Lab; these names are familiar to millions of computer users all over the world. These names have become part of people’s day lives and help them to protect their private data.

Any system may be flawed or vulnerable. Structural flaws should be rectified, while vulnerable parts should be detected in time and protected from the internal errors and moreover so from the unwanted intervention. In this very area, for over twenty-five years Mr. Kaspersky has been working diligently, helping out millions of users.

In recent years, one of our most impressive achievements has probably been special attention towards the area of information technologies. Combining the efforts of the state and private sectors, we have been able to make IT a truly strategic area. The most pleasing, of course, is the continuous involvement of our young people in this sector.

However, it is important to realize that IT is not just an economic factor in the life of the Republic. Today, these technologies allow Armenia to step into modern life. Moreover, information technologies have become one of the most important means for the modernization of Armenia.

The system is defined not by the errors, but by the ability to address the errors. At this very point, those who fight viruses and other harmful elements come to our rescue. Among them Eugene Kaspersky and experts working in his lab undoubtedly hold a unique and very important place.

Today, we witness how retrograde forces are lifting heads all over the world. They are trying to strangle the modern world and ideology of modernization. I am not sure if Mr. Kaspersky knows the kind of antivirus we need to fight that evil, but I am sure that the contemporary world is flexible and wise enough to eventually find the antivirus to protect us from that menace. It will be a victorious response of progress and modernization to the virus of backwardness and bigotry.

Dear Mr. Kaspersky,

I cordially congratulate you on receiving this award. There can be no doubt that your work in appreciated not only in Armenia but all over the world. You and those like like you open new doors for the humankind and at the same time help unfailingly protect these doors. It is well known that much is expected where much is given.

I wish you and your family all the best, and new achievements in your gratifying work. And be assured that here, in Armenia we will always be proud and pleased with your achievements.

Thank you.