MINSK, 12 April (BelTA) – The government should return to the matter of creating a digital economy ministry and make the decision on whether the country needs such a ministry or not in Q2 2019. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko gave the relevant instructions during an informal meeting with representatives of the IT community on 12 April, BelTA has learned.
The initiative to set up a digital economy ministry in Belarus was put forward by Viktor Prokopenya, an entrepreneur, the founder of the investment company VP Capital. In his opinion, such a ministry could act as a central staff and could take care of overseeing all the informatization processes in the country. According to Viktor Prokopenya, the Administration of the Hi-Tech Park performs these functions for now. However, the practice is not exactly correct since private companies operate in the Hi-Tech Park.
Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke in positive terms about the initiative. He pointed out the proposal had been discussed before. “As for the digital economy ministry, we should think together and take a look at the structure of the government,” he said. “If we can make the digital economy ministry part of the government without breaking the structure of the government, we will do it.”
Viktor Prokopenya also made a request. If the decision to set up the digital economy ministry is authorized, special attention will need to be paid to the choice of the person to run the ministry. In his opinion, a great deal will depend on personal and professional qualities of this person.
