Viva CEO participated in the 10th Armenian Internet Governance Conference

Ensuring stable international internet connectivity can be a challenge for landlocked countries. As networks increasingly rely on software functions and content delivery networks (CDNs), data centers have become critically important for the smooth operation of the internet. These and other topics were discussed at ArmIGF2025 , the 10th Armenian Internet Governance Forum, held in Yerevan on November 6.

The conference was organized by the "RA Internet Governance Forum" interdepartmental group in cooperation with the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, "Internet Society" and "Internet Society Armenia Section" NGOs, with the support of ICANN, RIPE NCC, IGFSA and other international partners.

The conference was attended by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council for the Development of Science and Technology of Armenia under the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan, Director of the Information Systems Agency of Armenia Nerses Yeritsyan, General Director of Viva Armen Avetisyan, RIPE NCC, Senior Advisor for Public Affairs and Policy Development, IGC Interagency Group Member Vahan Hovsepyan, ICANN Europe Managing Director and Vice President for Stakeholder Relations, IGFSA Executive Committee Member Christopher Mondini, Eutelsat Central Asia Market Access and Sales Director Dmitry Vetlugin, Internet Governance and Policy Advisor Anya Gengo, Internet Governance and Policy Secretariat, and other industry representatives.

Hakob Arshakyan delivered a welcoming speech at the conference. In the context of Armenia's development, Arshakyan touched upon the key importance of the Internet and new technologies in a changing world. Touching upon new development opportunities, the development of artificial intelligence, robotics, and the aerospace sectors, he, in particular, noted: "We are facing a situation where artificial intelligence is changing entire industrial chains. It is already in our lives, but its presence, I believe, will change the economy, public life, and everyday life beyond recognition in the coming years." The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly spoke about the impacts of innovation in the sector at different times and attitudes towards them. "The issues of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of countries will be related to the extent to which countries are able to use new technologies, in particular artificial intelligence, robotics, and aerospace technologies, for their development and to serve their societies, and to what extent that educational environment will be accessible to people and to what extent people will benefit from it," stated Hakob Arshakyan.

The anniversary ArmIGF2025 conference, which is an open and inclusive platform for multilateral dialogue, brought together representatives of the public and private sectors, technical and academic communities, civil society, and international organizations to discuss ways and options for ensuring internet connectivity in our country, taking into account the rapid technical progress in this area in the world today, as well as issues related to internet governance.

“As the managing organization of .am and .hay domains, standing at the origins of bringing the Internet to Armenia, we continue to be zealous in developing and spreading the Internet. It is an indispensable resource for educational and economic development, without which it is difficult to imagine the country's security and future. Therefore, Armenia must first resolve the issue of having its own alternative cable to Europe or Asia for Internet resilience and security,” said Albert Toneyan, Vice Chairman of the Internet Society NGO Board. According to the Vice Chairman of the Internet Society NGO Board, in order to reduce dependence on external connections, traffic exchange centers should also be developed, and steps should be taken to expand broadband Internet connections to the most remote communities.

At ArmIGF 2025, the issues of digital governance, infrastructure development, content regulation, security, and balancing user rights were among the topics discussed by the Armenian internet community and Internet experts.

“Viva’s network strategy is based on the principles of replication, technological diversity and continuous innovation. We have created a highly diversified optical backbone that connects our European points of connection (PoPs) with fully independent terrestrial and underwater routes, forming a resilient global ring. Our hybrid architecture, which combines terrestrial networks, a cloud platform and network functions virtualization (NFV), is preparing for the next phase, the introduction of satellite communication, to ensure maximum availability of critical infrastructure. Our ultimate goal is to guarantee digital sovereignty and uninterrupted connectivity for Armenia, regardless of the circumstances,” said Armen Avetisyan, CEO of Viva.

Every year, ArmIGF initiates the "Armenia Internet Governance Forum" interdepartmental group. The goal is to discuss and develop proposals for solving various issues related to Internet governance and development in a multi-stakeholder model.

The IAC includes representatives of state, private and public institutions. The conference is organized in cooperation with the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, the "Internet Society" and "Internet Society Armenia Sector" NGOs.