On Monday, April 8, 2019, Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Turkish Forum on Information and Communication Technologies has started at the International University of Sarajevo (IUS). It is organized jointly by the Regulatory Communications Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RAK) and the Information and Communications Technologies Authority of the Republic of Turkey, with the participation of the governments, the academia, as well as representatives of mobile operators Turkcell, Türk Telekom, BH Telecom, HT Eronet, and others.
The conference was opened by Dr. Ahmet Yıldırım, Rector of the International University of Sarajevo, who thanked the representatives of the two agencies on the visit, and congratulated them on their successful cooperation in the organization of today's forum. After him, H.E. Haldun Koç, Republic of Turkey Ambassador, said that this forum is an excellent example of cooperation between two countries that share historical and cultural ties, while he also emphasized the importance of information technologies for the development of societies, raising standards, overall economic development and the prosperity of a country.
General Director of RAK Predrag Kovač said that digitalization of societies is a process which is currently happening in all developed countries, and that cooperating with foreign ICT authorities is very important for BiH in order to use new technologies efficiently. He said: "It is valuable that we, in BiH, have the opportunity to make good use of other countries' achievements. The thing which we also want is to share our experience. Since we are now living in the digital era, ICT technologies will impact the lives of all people, and that is why this event is so important. "
Ömer Abdullah Karagözoglu, chairman of the Information and Communications Technologies Authority board (Turkey), said that there is capacity and potential for the ICT sector in BiH, and that some high-quality programs are currently being developed in BiH, that even captured attention in the Silicon Valley. He added that ICT is also integrated into the sectors of education, medicine, banking, etc., and constitutes a large portion of the gross national product.
At the end of the opening ceremony, Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, deputy minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, said: "This forum is very important from the aspect of cooperation strengthening, because it will significantly contribute to the development of cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey in the field of ICT." In his comprehensive presentation, Dr. Sayan said that nowadays the world has been experiencing an outbreak, the revolutionary transformation due to the development of ICT, and that ICT has strategic importance for every country. Since we have been witnessing the fact that those countries that use ICT to a larger extent are also the countries that are more prosperous, it is very important for BiH to catch this wave of change on time, because it will be very difficult to catch up with it after its gone.
The forum will continue today and tomorrow, and the ending is scheduled for April 9, 2019.
