Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 27 November (BelTA) – The creation of the legal base in the sphere of digital technologies is important for the Central European Initiative (CEI) countries. The statement was made by the head of the Austrian parliament delegation Wolfgang Gerstl, who arrived in Minsk to participate in a session of the Central European Initiative Parliamentary Assembly on 27 November, BelTA has learned.

The MP said: “We are happy to be in Belarus and are glad that Belarus comes forth with the initiative to promote cooperation between different countries. The modern world is a globalized one. This is why all the countries face the same problems more or less. On the one hand, digital technologies are becoming a very important aspect of life and open up a lot of opportunities. On the other hand, they can represent a threat. This is why we should work to develop digital technologies and fight cybercrimes, work out the legal base in the sphere of digital technologies.”

A session of the Central European Initiative Parliamentary Assembly will take place in Minsk on 28 November. Representatives of 13 countries will take part in the session. Members of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, scientists, representatives of the real economy sector, including heads of leading innovative enterprises and high-tech enterprises, have been invited to attend the session.

The session of the Central European Initiative Parliamentary Assembly will focus on digital technologies with a view to ensuring geopolitical security. The development of the digital economy from the point of view of information security, digital banking technologies, the adoption of legislative, organizational, and other measures to support the development of IT products will be discussed as well as unmanned driving, artificial intelligence, and biotechnologies.

Belarus presides over the Central European Initiative in 2017. The CEI is a regional association of 18 countries. The key purpose of the Central European Initiative is to help enhance flexible and pragmatic European regional cooperation with a view to preventing the emergence of new dividing lines in Europe.