At the headquarters of the World Economic Forum in Geneva (WEF) an Agreement has been signed establishing the WEF Centre for the Fourth Economic Revolution in Serbia.
The signing was attended by the Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabić, and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia the Agreement was signed by the Director of the Government Office for IT and eGovernment, Dr Mihailo Jovanović.
„Strong partnership of the Republic of Serbia and the World Economic Forum by this Agreement is reaching a new level and I am very proud that today we are launching the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Serbia. The centre is yet another step towards digitalisation, and the Centre will additionally assist us in adopting the state-of-the-art policies and solutions developed with partners worldwide. The key areas of activity of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Serbia will include artificial intelligence and bioengineering – two areas which have already been recognised in Serbia as vital for future economic growth. Our close cooperation with the WEF also contributes to international recognition of Serbia as a global centre for research and development of new technologies”, said the Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić.
During her visit to Geneva, the Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić met with Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum.
The WEF Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Serbia will be the 16th such centre within the Network of WEF Centres, and the first such centre in the Western Balkans. The Centre will operate as a non-profit organisation and a platform for public-private partnerships and cooperation for the fourth industrial revolution.
„The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Serbia will operate within the Office for IT and eGovernment of the Government of Serbia. It will cooperate closely with other relevant national institutions, primarily the Research-Development Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and the Institute for Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, as well as with other national institutions, scientific institutions and the private sector. The environment established around the Centre will use the infrastructure of the National Platform for Development of AI, the Centre for Genome Sequencing and the future bio-economics centre – BIO4 Campus”, stated the Director of the Office for IT and eGovernment, dr Mihailo Jovanović.
The signing of the Agreement establishing the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution with the WEF is a recognition of results achieved by the Government of the Republic of Serbia in digitalization projects, the development of the IT and eGovernment sectors, innovations and investments in education and knowledge in Serbia. The establishment of the Centre is yet another strong impetus to future development of the IT sector and innovations, technological revival and leadership of Serbia in this part of Europe. In the era of the fourth industrial revolution Serbia will harness its opportunities and become a regional leader in technology and science.
At the initiative of Ana Brnabić, the Serbian Prime Minister, the Government of the Republic of Serbia in 2019 made a visionary step in adopting the Strategy of Artificial Intelligence Development, being one of only 26 countries globally to have such a strategy, and there is an objective within it to establish the National Platform for Development of AI. Only two and a half years after the foundations were laid in Kragujevac for the construction of the data centre, and within it the platform for AI and the super-computer became functional. The platform is available to our innovative start-up companies and scientists to more quickly develop new AI products.
