Official greetings

Today’s economic reality sets new requirements for public administration principles and practices. We make active use of project management methods, implement target control and law enforcement models in priority investment climate improvement aspects, each of them being a separate project.

The federal Government pays increasingly higher attention to the system of strategic planning for a period of at least 20 years. Looking beyond this horizon, we must understand the way technology, science and humans develop. All management changes and innovations we launch are ultimately aimed at improving human lives.

Today, however, the ambitious challenge of improving management cannot be met without wide application of digital technologies. And this is just a small part of the iceberg called “digital economy” which now covers virtually all spheres of life: education, healthcare, online banking, manufacturing industries. This stage of development requires a lot more digital capacity and breakthrough technologies in the information sphere.

Foreign analysts believe that the gap between Russia and digitalization leaders is currently about 5-8 years and will grow rapidly if no catching up efforts are made.

I am absolutely certain we can avoid that. We are fully aware of the need and relevance of active digitalization in all spheres of life. The Government of Russia is currently developing the state program “Digital Economy.” It should aim, among other things, at cutting expenses of businesses and citizens, ensuring mobility of goods, services and capital, stimulating across-the-board cooperation of economic entities in the digital space.

The IT development and active use in all sectors will certainly require major transformations in the education and training system. We understand that some occupations will no longer be in demand in the “new” market. Not all specialists, even if demanded by the market, will be able to meet the tougher requirements of the digital economy. An important task for the Government and the business community is to refocus the education system on the training of specialists possessing the necessary skills for making headway amidst the global digitalization of the production of goods and services.

Increasingly higher attention will be paid to the legal regulation of relationships in the digital economy, one of the prerequisites for a successful development of digital systems. This is also where government authorities should play the primary role.

Realizing that an effective modern digital economy cannot be built in a particular region, we decided that time has come for a broad discussion of the key digital economy-related issues and propose the 6^th Central Russian Economic Forum as the discussion venue.

Most of the regions are approximately at the same level of information technology penetration: all of them have problems as regards information infrastructure development, technical resources, development of communications, training of specialists. I propose discussing both these issues and positive regional experiences at the Forum, so as to understand digital economy development prospects in Central Russian regions and to elaborate decisions on specific actions for the near future.

Kursk region has a positive track record of achievements in the IT sector. We are taking a leading position (1^st or 2^nd in Russia) in implementing GLONASS-based satellite navigation technologies (according to Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development); the local scientists make active use of space technologies, with several artificial satellites based on their solutions operating in Earth orbit; farm machines equipped with modern precision sowing and crop processing devices are working on the region’s fields; we have created an Earth remote sensing center; the leading enterprises of the region, the Kursk NPP and PJSC Mikhailovsky GOK, employ most complex and advanced IT-based production management systems.

I have no doubt that colleagues from other regions can share their experience and will show interest in the proposed Forum theme: “Modern Economy in a Digital Environment.”

You are welcome at the 6^th Central Russian Economic Forum!

Alexander Mikhailov,

the Governor of Kursk region