Oracle Corporation

YEREVAN (Arka)—The world’s largest software developer, Oracle Corporation, plans to open a “center of excellence” in Armenia, senior vice president of the company, Alain Blanc, said Friday at a news conference in Yerevan.

Blanc declined to divulge many details, saying only that the company and the Armenian government have signed a memorandum of understanding envisioning the implementation of educational programs, the expansion of the range of services for the government, and the establishment of a so-called “center of excellence.”

Blanc said representatives of the company visited a number of Armenian universities and IT companies, and were impressed by the skills of Armenian students and professionals.

Headquartered in California, Oracle is the world’s largest developer of software for corporate clients and a major provider of server hardware and accompanying services.

Oracle’s Senior Vice President Blanc expressed confidence that the American company’s entry to the market will be successful, stimulating, hopefully, various innovative programs.

“The development of the IT sector is among the priorities of the Armenian Government,” Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said. “We have registered a 15 to 20 percent growth in the field and we are confident that this bilateral cooperation will give new impetus to the further development of the IT sphere in our country,” he added.

Agreement on cooperation between the Armenian government and Oracle was first reached on December 7, 2012, during a meeting between Prime Minister Sargsyan and representatives of the Californian corporation in Frankfurt, Germany.