Russian Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov met with leaders of the Leaders’ Club to Promote Business Initiatives, which brings together 340 companies from 42 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The meeting was also attended by Rostelecom President Sergei Kalugin and Russian Post CEO Dmitry Strashnov, and the agenda included current issues in the development of the information and communication technologies sector.
In his speech, Nikolai Nikiforov emphasised the importance of such meetings to keep track of businesses’ responses to the changes taking place in the industry. The Minister said that the priorities of the Russian Communications Ministry are making quality telecommunications services available throughout the country, the introduction of digital television and the modernisation of mail.
The Minister said that there is a focus on developing the information technology industry as an independent part of the economy.
“Today, the total contribution to the economy of the IT industry, the internet and related businesses, which include online sales, is 4.6% of GDP,” said Mr Nikiforov.
The head of the Communications Ministry is also focused on ways to improve service delivery.
“The portal www.gosuslugi.ru has been launched and is successfully operating with 4,000,000 registered users. However, in the long term, there should not only be the capability to provide government services online, but also other types of services. For our part, we need to create the necessary infrastructure for this,” said Mr Nikiforov.
Source: Communications Ministry
