A special body tasked with regulating the development of the IT sector will be set up in Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said during Tuesday’s meeting. In his opinion, modern technology is often used for political expediency.
A corresponding ‘comprehensive decree’ is being prepared; the document will allow concentrating available resources in several key areas, setting up a single government regulation body, and ‘making the most of China’s experience in building a digital society’, the politician announced.
“I want to say that it is about control, on the one hand, civilised control. On the other hand, we want to seize the moment and use this segment for our development purposes,” he said.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka came up with the idea of encouraging foreign businessmen to invest in this sector in Belarus. In this context, he presented his vision of the economy in the pandemic times.
“When the COVID pandemic broke out last year, the world leaders printed trillions of dollars (we have spoken about this more than once) to protect and save people. Someone tried to cash in on this, someone took advantage of this situation for other purposes,” the press service quotes him.
According to him, the enormous demand pushed the value of high-tech companies by 200% to 800%.
“However, most of the printed money is still idle, which means that if we raise these funds, they will serve as a great impetus to our growth,” Lukashenka believes.
IT specialists played an important role in the protests which followed the rigging of the presidential election in August, 2020. Many of them bore the brutality of the Lukashenka regime and its enforcement agencies on their backs. A number of IT firms which supported their injured and persecuted workers have faced the intensifying pressure. During the first post-election days, the Internet was switched off in Belarus. The developments mentioned above resulted in a massive outflow of techies and tech businesses from the country.
Belsat.eu, following president.gov.by
