Russia's Communications Minister Calls For Faster Development of National Information Strategy
Leonid Reiman, Russian Minister of Information Technologies and Communications, wants a national information strategy put together as soon as possible.
Nov 18, 2004
MOSCOW, November 17 (RIA Novosti) - Leonid Reiman, Russian Minister of Information Technologies and Communications, wants a national information strategy put together as soon as possible. He made this clear at an expanded session Wednesday of the Board and the Trustees of the Center for the Development of Information Society.
A group of experts is now working on the strategy. Its priorities will include the development of information and communication infrastructure, the development of the information & communication technologies (ICT) market, international cooperation in the field of ICT, and the improvement of the sector's regulatory base.
Commenting on proposals to introduce government regulation of the Internet, Reiman said: "I am opposed to the idea of Internet regulation; it has been developing as a free sphere all along, so if we begin regulating it now, it will just stop developing as actively." With regard to websites promoting violence, the minister pointed out that "this is not an Internet phenomenon, but a relationship between the producer/supplier of information and the consumer of information, and this relationship should be regulated by a media law."
By the year 2010, the IT sector will be employing about 5 percent of Russia's working population, or 3.5 million people, as against 1.4 percent in 2001, Reiman said. "Such a growth in the number of those employed in the sector will be made possible thanks to the implementation of the information technologies market development concept," he explained.
In addition, the implementation of this concept will make it possible for the IT market to grow up to 40 billion dollars, which is almost five times as much as in 2003. Also, according to the minister, the concept will enable Russia to join the ranks of world IT market leaders.
"The high level of IT development will become an important factor in enhancing the country's defense capacity while also improving public health and education and raising the population's computer literacy," Reiman pointed out.
For that to happen, the government should provide support for the IT sector, including through tax cuts, the minister said. He stressed the importance of reducing the tax burden on the wage fund and considering the possibility of returning VAT to software exporters.
A group of experts is now working on the strategy. Its priorities will include the development of information and communication infrastructure, the development of the information & communication technologies (ICT) market, international cooperation in the field of ICT, and the improvement of the sector's regulatory base.
Commenting on proposals to introduce government regulation of the Internet, Reiman said: "I am opposed to the idea of Internet regulation; it has been developing as a free sphere all along, so if we begin regulating it now, it will just stop developing as actively." With regard to websites promoting violence, the minister pointed out that "this is not an Internet phenomenon, but a relationship between the producer/supplier of information and the consumer of information, and this relationship should be regulated by a media law."
By the year 2010, the IT sector will be employing about 5 percent of Russia's working population, or 3.5 million people, as against 1.4 percent in 2001, Reiman said. "Such a growth in the number of those employed in the sector will be made possible thanks to the implementation of the information technologies market development concept," he explained.
In addition, the implementation of this concept will make it possible for the IT market to grow up to 40 billion dollars, which is almost five times as much as in 2003. Also, according to the minister, the concept will enable Russia to join the ranks of world IT market leaders.
"The high level of IT development will become an important factor in enhancing the country's defense capacity while also improving public health and education and raising the population's computer literacy," Reiman pointed out.
For that to happen, the government should provide support for the IT sector, including through tax cuts, the minister said. He stressed the importance of reducing the tax burden on the wage fund and considering the possibility of returning VAT to software exporters.