The Eastern European country of Serbia is trying to make the difficult transition into the digital economy model of the 21st Century. After decades under communism, the nation has struggled to expand its economy through traditional goods and services. Now, it wishes to take on the digital marketplace, seeing that as a way to quickly grow in a modern world.
The World Bank has announced that it is ready to help Serbia make that transition. In its annual development report, the World Bank noted, "countries who invest more into digital technologies achieve bigger growth." As a result, Tony Verheijen, World Bank Country Manager for Serbia announced Thursday that he was pleased the World Bank would be able to assist Serbia to step into this new marketplace.
Read more: World Bank to Aid Serbia as It Transitions to a Digital Economy
The survey, carried out in April on 1,239 respondents, shows that 63 percent use the internet to follow news, followed by those who use it for information about various topics and for education, and for visits to social networks, said Zoran Torbica of the Internet Development Center.
Stankovic announced the completion of the first "informatisation operation" of the health sector by 2015.
He recalled that the development of the information health system in Serbia is carried out in line with the strategic commitment of the Ministry and implementation of the “E-Health 2012” document harmonised with European standards and regulations of the relevant institutions.
According to the decision, the group's task is to define a detailed plan for the development of the national broadband network, and the role of the state telecommunication infrastructure in the functioning of this network.
The working group, headed by Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, should also establish the regulatory conditions that will secure the sustainability and development of the national broadband network.
Read more: Serbian Gov't working on national broadband network
As the ongoing buzz would have it, the initiative for this informal meeting came from Slobodan Markovic, Special Advisor to the Serbian Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, who also happens to be a very forthcoming and active member of the online community, and Zoran Torbica, CEO of CRI Domains and one of the initiators and Vice President of the Serbian Center for Internet Development, who has been a part of the local online community, one could safely say, since its inception.
Read more: Serbia: Minister Takes e-Government from Virtual to Real