New markets, solutions and projects: Almaty Digital Forum 2021 launched in Kazakhstan
09:26, 5 February, 2021
ALMATY, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Almaty Digital Forum 2021 has launched in Kazakhstan with the maintenance of all COVID-19 related rules.
The Forum is attended by the prime ministers of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as well as international experts, Armenpress correspondent reports from Almaty.
The Forum will focus on discussing the formation of digital agenda at regional and global level, new digital transformation strategies and technological trends. The participants will touch upon the future steps and prospects of the international cooperation.
The agenda of the Forum this year has been formed taking into account the global changes which emerged due to COVID-19.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who also serves as the Chairman of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, addressed the Forum participants in a video message at the plenary session titled “Digital Uploading: Flight to New Reality”. He stated that the coronavirus on the one hand left a negative impact on the economy, the public health, but on the other hand the use of technologies, digital tools had a drastic growth worldwide.
“Remote medicine, remote learning, digitization of services, etc: a major work has been done in this respect. 90% of the state services in Kazakhstan are online. The future belongs to innovation and new technologies. On the other hand, we should also take into account the fact that digital opportunities also suppose responsibility for their smart use”, the Kazakh President said.
Digital communication is no longer a luxury, it’s a mandatory component in our daily life, President of the World Economic Forum Børge Brende said in his video address. He said business and government must work very closely, adding that there are still a lot of people in the world who are offline due to the absence of the internet. Mr Brende added that in this respect the states have a lot to do.
Google Vice President Vint Cerf in turn noted that in line of the drastic technology development not everyone has yet an opportunity to use the internet. He stated that this weak side was especially seen during the pandemic when people had to use the internet, mobile apps for using services.
Digital technologies are one of the most developing directions in Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the results and the digital data in his remarks at the Forum.
“The Armenian government views digitization, innovation and new technologies as important tools for ensuring the efficiency of public administration, favorable conditions for the business climate. In 2020 the turnover of IT companies in Armenia comprised over 400 million USD, which increased by 20% compared to the previous year. In 2020 the number of people working in this sector has increased by 22%. Currently, 1200 companies operate in this sphere”, Pashinyan said.
According to him, the pandemic put a complex task before the government. The solution of such problems lead to the broad use of digital technologies, the formation of a new culture. Pashinyan said digital technologies, e-government tools have been used in Armenia. He added that Armenia is going to introduce and develop a policy of electronic services, e-government systems, digital processes.
“I would like to praise the fact that the member states of the Union managed to use the digital technologies for overcoming some of the problems caused by the pandemic. The talk is about “I Am Travelling Without COVID-19” digital platform which in fact resumed the free movement of citizens between Armenia, Russia and Belarus. From the very beginning Armenia has supported the Eurasian Development Bank’s “Digital Initiatives Fund” project, and we want to thank our partners of the Fund and the Russian and Belarusian governments for the active joint work within the frames of this program”, the Armenian PM said.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan