ArmInfo. According to the results of 2019, the share of the high technology sector in the structure of the GDP of the Republic of Armenia amounted to only 2.4%. This was announced on June 8 by the Minister of High Technology Industry Hakob Arshakyan at a joint meeting of the RA NA Standing Committees on Economic, Financial and Budgetary Issues. He noted that according to the results of 2018, the share of the sphere in GDP amounted to about 2%. "This is a good indicator, but given the potential of Armenia, we could have better results," he emphasized. In particular, the minister said that following the results of the previous year, the sphere's turnover amounted to 320 million drams, which is 30% more than the indicator of the previous year.
At the same time, Arshakyan noted that in 2019 there was a significant increase of 25% in the newly created companies, thus increasing their total number to 1,250. The Minister dictated such dynamics by the government policy, in particular, on providing various benefits to IT startups.
In general, he noted that 2019 was a busy year in terms of implementing programs and participating in specialized exhibitions that brought significant results. In particular, according to Arshakyan, thanks to participation in international exhibitions, Armenian IT companies concluded export contracts of about $ 1 million. In this regard, he also recalled the signing of a memorandum in Silicon Valley, under which Armenian IT entrepreneurs will be trained in the United States, Draper University.
At the same time, according to the minister, for 2019, the state budget provided for 5.6 billion drams for the IT sector, while the program performance indicator was 93.7%.
