Deputy Minister for Information Society Sava Savić stated in an interview for the Morning Program of Hepi TV that the potential of information technologies is enormous, and the opportunity has been recognized by the bearers of future development, small and medium enterprises in the Republic of Serbia.
“The Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications is thus implementing a project for the development of e-Business in RS. In practice, a transfer of knowledge and experience needs to be implemented from the European Union toward small and medium enterprises, the regulatory framework needs to be improved, thus enabling their approach to foreign markets. Namely, information society and the digital world do not recognize geographic borders, you can export your services, multimedia content, or programs worldwide and in an unlimited number of copies. Our programmers have recognized this, and most of them dream of making just one application they will sell in a million copies and thus from Serbia, from their armchair, or office, make it possible to charge for their services and goods and ship them worldwide”, said the Deputy Minister.
The Deputy Minister noted that according to an extract from the Business Registrars Agency, there are currently around 2,380 companies in Serbia, with a 7% increase at the end of 2015, indicating an increasing need for IT services and IT experts.
Assessments state that by 2020 approximately one million IT experts will be lacking at the European Union level. Serbia sees this as an opportunity, and accordingly, the Government of Serbia adopted the Strategy for Information Society Development in RS by 2020, with the line ministry monitoring developments and trends in the European Union through its activities and thus providing businesses and citizens accelerated development through the use of information technologies”, said Savić.
Savić emphasized that the line ministry for telecommunications, through its project activities and programmes for the development of digital infrastructure, is enabling primarily the accessibility of the internet and information technologies for all citizens throughout Serbia. The sale of the digital dividend began recently. This is the 800 megahertz frequency range liberated through the transition to the digital broadcasting of TV signals. It represents direct budget income of around EUR 126 million. The project itself cost around 35, we had a European Union donation of 10, and we have completed the transformation from analogue to digital television with 25 million, creating a budget income difference of EUR 100 million. This is only the beginning, since it entails direct investments into other segments, e.g. the telecommunications operators will invest three times as much in infrastructure, and this means quality and accessible internet connections for citizens both in urban, as well as rural areas. The trend of online shops is on the increase today, and thus the growth trend of electronic online commerce in Serbia is at around 28% annually.
“The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications is dedicated to the idea of internet access for all citizens, primarily in the educational system, and therefore in 2016 we have initiated a programme of digital education and the introduction of internet in primary schools, and the installation of Wi-Fi networks. The goal is the wider use of ICT in the education system – if our children can properly accept information technologies from their youngest age and be the bearers of society, there will be more experts. The increased number of interested students completing computer science faculties will also certainly impact this”, said Sava Savić.
Savić also noted that the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, in addition to the programme of digital education, has a programme for the development of digital economy and the development of digital infrastructure. “The introduction of digital services, to be accessible to both businesses and the state, will stimulate more widespread use of information technologies in daily private and business activities, the costs will be considerably reduced, and thus productivity and income for companies will be increased. Therefore, the line ministry for telecommunications has prepared a draft Law on Information Security, currently undergoing adoption procedures in the National Assembly, that should further regulate this field and make all ICT systems in RS more reliable, and thus increase citizen trust in information technologies and their more widespread use, as well as to improve combating high-tech crime, undertaking scientific-research work in this field, and providing more information for all citizens”, said Savić.
