Events

Lukashenko lays out strategy for digitizing daily life

An archive photo

MINSK, 18 December (BelTA) - Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko outlined approaches to digitization in his Address to the Belarusian People and Parliament on 18 December, BelTA has learned.

The president highlighted the need to develop the national IT industry and specifically focused on the digitization of daily life. “We are developing e-government technologies, creating digital platforms and services. But is the effect visible to the public? Do people understand what opportunities are opening up for their convenience? I think not always, and not everyone does,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

In this regard, the head of state raised a logical question: “What was the point of developing the Unified Electronic Services Portal if, outside Minsk and regional centers, people have no opportunity to make a doctor’s appointment remotely? They are forced to arrive at the clinic at six in the morning and wait in a live queue.”

Furthermore, the president noted, Belarus has many hotlines, portals, and websites - from Obrashcheniya.bel to chat-bots. “But what’s the use? People keep going from one organization to another just as they always have,” he observed.

The head of state declared that Belarus needs to work out the possibility of creating a unified service capable of responding to inquiries promptly and competently. “It must become a universal center for public feedback, where people can reach out by phone, online, or in person. Similar models exist in both Russia and China,” Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out.

The Belarusian leader emphasized that the goal is not digitization for digitization’s sake. “It makes no sense to spend money if administering a service costs more than its actual utility. We’ll streamline where it makes sense,” he said.

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