In the first three industrial revolutions, Serbia didn’t exactly distinguish itself, but in this fourth one, we’re not doing too bad so far. The export of the IT sector in Serbia last year was around 3.5 billion euros, and since 2012, it has grown about 10 times. The goal is to reach 10 billion euros by 2027, said Minister of Information and Telecommunications, Mihailo Jovanović, summarizing the recent results.
The ICT sector has become Serbia’s most significant export branch with the largest surplus and the fastest growth, with an annual rate exceeding 20 percent. “Our goal is to continue with further growth and investments to achieve exports of 10 billion euros by 2027,” he said.
Jovanović added that in Serbia, the demand for new personnel in the ICT sector is growing daily, emphasizing that since 2016, the number of employees in this sector has doubled from 56,000 to around 110,000.
Our journey was by no means easy, but desires and determination prevailed, leading us to the position of a regional leader. We invested in infrastructure, the development of e-government, digital transformation of the economy, information system and citizen data security, as well as the reform of the education sector, he noted.
According to the minister, currently in Serbia, more than 2.1 million citizens use hundreds of different electronic services by accessing the e-Government portal, as well as many other state portals, using a single account, and all from their mobile phones.
Jovanović reminded that last year, the Law on Electronic Communications was adopted, and the implementation of a major project to introduce broadband internet in rural areas was successfully carried out. He emphasized that in the coming years, every household in Serbia, even in the most remote areas, will have the opportunity to access high-speed internet.
Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, stated that Serbia is recognized as one of the countries that has timely recognized the importance of developing artificial intelligence.
Serbia was the first country in Southeast Europe to adopt a strategy for the development of artificial intelligence in 2019. “We were two years behind the world pioneers and the 26th country globally to adopt such a strategy. We are now upgrading it until 2030,” said the Prime Minister to reporters.
“We have bought a supercomputer, and now we are allocating an additional 30 million euros for another supercomputer, which is a significant achievement,” added the Prime Minister.
“The goal is to make all internet-based services accessible to our citizens, as this makes life easier and improves it for both you as providers and citizens as end-users. This also means an additional motivation for creative and informative solutions, and thereby the possibility of greater financial gain,” he said.
The state will continue to strive to create conditions that others do not have in other parts of the world, so follow the trends; one must be a step ahead of time because, in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution we are in, there is room for everyone, but only for the best, those capable of adapting quickly, staying on top, Jovanović added.
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