Prishtina, 27.10.2017 – The development of the information and communication sector is the future of Kosovo’s economy, said the Minister of Economic Development Valdrin Lluka, in his opening remarks during the 6th international conference on ICT “KosICT”, organized by the Kosovo ICT Association (STIKK), Innovation Center Kosovo (ICK) and Universum College, with support from the Ministry of Economic Development, various donors and the private sector.

Minister Lluka said on this occasion that MED aims to raise the capacity of youth, respectively women, for becoming part of this sector  and engaging in the provision of online services, a growing sector in the country. “This 60 million europ project was one of the key topics discussed with two World Bank Secretaries in Washington DC (funding of the Kosovo Digital Economy project), with around 80% of the budget invested in infrastructure that we aim to reach every school, hospital and village, so as to provide every family with access to a high quality internet connection,” Lluka said.

Further, Head of MED revealed that in addition to the 80 percent spent on infrastructure that will cover 100 percent of the territory, there are also two other components, one of which is increase of capacities with the aim to provide youth and women with knowledge on application development, web-page development and other services which will serve them in providing online services and self-employment. The other component is promotion of such capacities, and we will have a separate budget for this purpose.

“Kosovo has already shown great results in online employment. I want to ensure you that all policies we embark on will be coordinated with the sector and our partners. We wish to involve the private sector in all policies and decisions we adopt,” emphasized Minister Lluka.

The Conference Director, Bardh Kadriu, said that year after year participation in this conference has increased, with over 100 participants in this year’s edition, expressing his consent with this fact. On the other hand, Chairman of the Board of ICT, Mentor Sahiti, said that this is a great opportunity for companies and youth to exchange ideas.

“ICT sector is very dynamic and is transforming economy around the globe, and this is the purpose of this conference as well – to make sure that companies pass the sector’s messages to institutions,” he said.

For five years, over 70 speakers have addressed over 2000 participants of the conferences from around the globe, including representatives of Google, LinkedIn, Apple, The Entrepreneur, Deutsche Telekom and many others.