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 Evgeniy 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.