Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that Serbia wants to be one of the leaders of the Fourth industrial revolution and to position itself as one of the most competitive countries for investment, education, research and innovation
As part of a two-day visit to Luxembourg, PM Ana Brnabic attended a seminar organised by the Startup Centre of the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg, where digitisation and sharing of ICT experience were among the topics in focus.
At this gathering, which presented the potentials of Serbia as well as the potentials in the field of information technologies, she emphasised that our country is now in a position in which Luxembourg was decades ago and therefore can learn a lot from that country.
We need to catch up with Western Europe in order to have a more dynamic and sustainable development, a better quality of life and more opportunities for young people, and we can do this through digitisation, creativity and the Fourth industrial revolution, she said.
Brnabic explained that Serbia has a basis for such growth, but that it has to change laws, introduce digitisation in public administration and change the way of thinking about the economy.
Speaking about what has been done in the previous period, she said that elementary education has been adapted to the Fourth industrial revolution, that coding and algorithms have been introduced in elementary schools, as well as digital classrooms.
Also, specialised IT departments have been introduced in high schools, and capacities at faculties in this field have been increased, the Prime Minister said, noting that Serbia is investing more than €100 million in science parks and startup infrastructure.
There is a science and technology park in Belgrade, but a new one is being built in Novi Sad and in Nis each, and the state gives benefits for starting startup companies, she said.
Brnabic explained that the Fourth industrial revolution provides constant changes, which are very rapid, but that one does not know what will happen later and how to adapt oneself to it.
On the sidelines of the forum, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg and the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, and Serbia’s economic potential, as well as information technology potential, were presented.
The Prime Minister, who is on a two-day official visit to Luxembourg, also met with Grand Duke Henri at the Grand Duke’s Palace in Luxembourg today.
Brnabic had previously spoken with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, and it is planned that she also meets with Luxembourg Parliament Speaker Fernando Etgen.