State Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications Tatjana Matić has said that the investment in the information and communication structure is vital for achieving the global objectives for the application of innovative solutions for a social and economic progress and overcoming the digital gap.
For the occasion of celebrating the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), State Secretary has pointed out that with the strategic commitment and establishment of the stabile legal framework for digitalisation the Republic of Serbia confirms the status of one of the oldest members of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), but that additional efforts are crucial for reaching the level of the countries with a massive use of digital solutions, especially those contributing to the efficient production and business, and easing the life of the citizens, such as the use of robotics and artificial intelligence.
Ms Matić has reminded that Serbia was the only non-EU country, which together with Greece and Bulgaria would participate in establishing the joint transport 5G corridor for the implementation of various technologies, where a special task would be testing in the field of autonomous and transport vehicles.
“The broadband approach in Serbia has 61.9% of households, and 98.6% of companies, which proves the readiness for further development of infrastructure, but the readiness of the population and the economy to accept the technological trends. In line with that the Strategy of Development of New Generation Network by 2030, adopted in April this year, promotes the use of cloud and Internet of Things, as well as the development of mobile systems of the fifth generation (5G)”, says Ms Matić.
“Also, this strategy defines the measures for ensuring the infrastructure and provides the analysis which shows that investment in the field of broadband approach has a direct impact on the increase of the number of jobs, development of small and medium-size enterprises, competitiveness of all economic sectors, and improvement of life quality for the citizens”, State Secretary has said.
She has pointed out that the adopted acts, including the Information Safety Act, and the Act on Electronic Document, Electronic Signature, and Trust Services in Electronic Transfers, as well as programme activities implemented by the Ministry in charge of telecommunications and information society, for the application of information technology in education and development of innovative entrepreneurship, encourage the use of information and communication technologies in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, with this year’s topic “Enabling the positive use of Artificial Intelligence for All” is celebrated every year on May 17, on the anniversary of signing the first telegraph convention in 1865, i.e. on the day of establishing the International Telecommunication Union in Paris, whose member Serbia became only 40 days after the establishment of this organisation.
