Macut: Serbia has made major progress in digitalisation of public administration

BELGRADE- Serbian PM Djuro Macut said on Monday Serbia wanted to be a country of know-how, innovation and new technologies and that investments in development of digital infrastructure, modernisation of public administration and strengthening the capacities for applications of artificial intelligence in the service of citizens and businesses would be continued.

At a conference that marked the Oracle Public Sector Innovation Day, Macut said that, in recent years, Serbia had made "significant progress in the field of digitalisation of public administration, development of IT infrastructure and application of modern technologies" and that projects had been implemented that had "positioned the country as one of the technological leaders in this part of Europe," a government statement said.

Macut noted that authorities would continue to invest in development of digital infrastructure, modernisation of public administration and strengthening the capacities for applications of artificial intelligence.

"Today, we can say that digital transformation is no longer just a plan or vision, but a concrete result that citizens experience every day through more efficient, faster and more accessible state services", the PM said.

Macut noted that the authorities had "reliable partners in this process, including Oracle", adding that "the cooperation with this company has been going on for years and is developing through strategic projects, including the opening of Oracle Cloud at the State Data Centre in Kragujevac, which has made Serbia an important point in the region’s digital infrastructure," the statement said.

"This is confirmation of the trust that one of the world’s leading technology companies has in Serbia, its institutions and experts, the Prime Minister pointed out, adding that more than 80 projects have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented so far.

The Prime Minister also stated that one of the most significant digitalisation projects in healthcare – the migration of local health information systems and the formation of a single ICT network of healthcare institutions – uses Oracle Cloud as a platform on which local health information systems are located.

The migration to Oracle Cloud, which has so far moved 50 out of a total of 360 local health information systems, has significantly improved the reliability of health information systems, while at the same time eliminating the need to maintain hardware equipment at healthcare institutions, which was a challenge, especially in small towns, Macut said.

The Prime Minister expressed his belief that a new phase of cooperation with Oracle lies ahead, through further expansion of capacity in Kragujevac and the development of new digital services that will further improve the efficiency of institutions and the quality of services provided to citizens," the statement said.