VivaCell

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED BETWEEN VIVACELL-MTS AND FOUR ARMENIAN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Noyan Tapan 19.10.2011

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the frames of the VivaCell-MTS Career Development Program the objective of which is to create continuous connection between business and higher education

VivaCell-MTS, a subsidiary of "Mobile TeleSystems" OJSC, is glad to announce that at VivaCell-MTS Headquarters a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Company, represented by its General Manager Ralph Yirikian and four more educational institutions of Armenia, represented by their respective Presidents such as: Junior Achievements of Armenia (JAA), International Accountancy Training Center (IATC), Gyumri State Pedagogical Institute after M. Nalbandyan, IAB Center.

For over three years, the VivaCell-MTS General Manager has been a guest lecturer in universities in Armenia. Ralph Yirikian has extended his visits to meet with students, graduates and faculty members in the regions of Armenia and Yerevan, with the purpose to share the Company's success as a leader in Corporate Responsibility, management culture, successful strategy of business development, technical development of network, marketing strategy, etc. However, the support of VivaCell-MTS to higher educational institutions in Armenia is not limited to one-time lectures. In order to create continuous connection between business and higher education, VivaCell-MTS developed the Career Development Program initiative.

"The realization of the importance of passing the accumulated experience to the younger generation became for us a motivation to create the Career Development Program. In the frames of this program we cooperate not only with Yerevan-based higher educational institutions and educational centers but with regional ones as well.

We have already hosted a lot of interns at different departments of our Company and our staff is lecturing at the universities. This will help meet the needs of the job market and help the Armenian youth stay and work in Armenia. The Memorandum of Understanding that we are signing today with another four educational institutions will support more students with upgrading their capacity in the respective spheres based on the demands of the job market", mentioned VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

The major directions of mutual cooperation outlined in the Memorandum, are the following: organization of master's thesis internship for graduate students in VivaCell-MTS, organization of practical lectures for students delivered by the respective specialists of the Company, implementation of joint scientific research, master's thesis research and curriculum development projects jointly with the faculty, involvement of the Company's specialists as Master's thesis supervisors, etc. In addition, according to the Memorandum, the universities' high-performing students will be given an opportunity to get specialty internship in specific areas such as commercial law, finance and accounting, marketing and sales, information technologies, customer service, etc. In addition, students from regions will receive a salary to help them cover living expenses in Yerevan.

VivaCell-MTS keeps on investing in the younger generation of Armenians to assist them to achieve their professional goals, to develop and to find their destination in life for the sake of a better future of our motherland.

VivaCell-MTS (K-Telecom CJSC) is Armenia's leading mobile operator, having the widest 2G/ 3.5G network reach and spreading a wide range of Voice and Data services all across Armenia. Having the best of the Armenian people interest at heart since its launch on 1st July 2005 and in a short period of time VivaCell-MTS has managed to build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base. VivaCell-MTS drives innovation and aims at always being at the forefront of any development serving the Armenian mobile communications market. For more information, visit www.vivacell.am

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Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS") is the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company services over 100 million subscribers. The regions of Russia, as well as Armenia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, in which MTS and its associates and subsidiaries are licensed to provide GSM services, have a total population of more than 230 million. Since June 2000, MTS' Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about MTS can be found at www.mts.ru