June 09, 2018 - The Government of Montenegro is working on closing the digital gap with the countries of the European Union by implementing the Strategy for the Development of the Information Society by 2020. The main goal of this project and the vision of the Government of Montenegro is for the new generation of services to be both geographically and economically accessible to all citizens of Montenegro, no matter where in the country they live and what business they are doing. These facts were a part of an introduction speech, given by State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy, Milan Srzentic.
From June 6 to 8, Srzentic had an opportunity to open the second Balkan.com conference “Closing the Digital Gap”. This conference deals with challenges in the development of electronic communications networks and it brings together eminent international experts from the world of science, innovation, and business.
“Our regulatory framework in the field of electronic communications is in line with the European Union’s, and our efforts are being aimed at the creation of a stable and transparent investment environment that will contribute to simplifying the procedures and reducing the costs of building a new of generation networks. The government is also working on the implementation of other strategic goals related to the development of digital skill and human capital, the increase of cybersecurity, the development of e-government services, e-health and e-education,” said Srzentic.
He also added that the very theme of this year's conference points to the awareness of the existence of a digital gap in all the economies of the Western Balkans, but at the same time it provides insights that the digitalization needs to be one of the development priorities at the both, regional and national level.
Keeping in mind the fact that the digitalization process in the European Union’s countries is progressing with increasing dynamism, this means that it is no longer enough for the Balkan region to follow the rhythm of Europe.
“In order to reduce the difference, our progress must go even faster. This makes our task even more challenging and this is the reason why our need for communication and exchanging of knowledge and experiences in the “4th industrial revolution” is bigger than ever,” noted Srzentic.
“It is important to emphasize that we are doing everything, not only at the local, but also at the regional level within the framework of the multi-annual Regional Economic Area Action Plan, under the auspices of the Berlin Process, together with other Western Balkan economies. This way, we confirm our reliability as a partner to all countries in the region when it comes to economic and digital connection,” concluded State Secretary Srzentic.
