Romania has revealed its intentions to pool resources in order to develop the Information and communications technology sector by setting up national programs and projects to structure ‘an intelligent, sustainable and more inclusive society’.

At a meeting in Bucharest’s Central University Library, the Minister for Information Society, Răzvan Cotovelea officially rolled out the 2014-2020 Digital Agenda, on 12th of November, labelling economic growth and job creation to be their top priority. An approximate growth of 13 percent of GDP,  about EUR 2.4 billion, is expected by 2020, the ministry reports.

“ICT plays an important role in improving business efficiency and extending market reach and the social impact of ICT has become significant”, according to the ministry in the English translation of the policy. “ICT development is a key area to improve the competitiveness of the business environment, to increase public sector efficiency and to reduce bureaucracy.”

Influenced by the European Digital Agenda, an initial draft Romanian Digital Agenda was released earlier this year for comments until August, reports Joinup. It is a follow-up of the Strategia Națională e Romania 2010-2013, published in 2010.

Salient features of the Romanian Digital Agenda are:

• eGovernment, Interoperability, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing, Open Data, Big Data and Social Media – increasing efficiency and reducing the public sector costs in Romania by having a modern administration;
• ICT in Education, Health, Culture and eInclusion – support at a sectorial level that will ensure ICT investments create a positive impact in the social context;
• eCommerce, Research & Development and Innovation in ICT – building on the comparative advantages of Romania’s regions and supporting economic growth in the private sector;
• Broadband and Digital Services Infrastructure – ensuring social inclusion and enabling the benefits across all other fields of actions.

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(Image credit: Chamil Ghircoias)