Rustam Minnikhanov: Kazan Digital Week has become one of business cards of Tatarstan

On 20 September the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, Russian Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev, Russian Deputy Minister of Transport Dmitriy Bakanov, the Director General of the Agency on Development of Professions and Skills Robert Urazov and heads of leading IT companies took part in a plenary session, of the International Forum Kazan Digital Week-2023 held at the Kazan Expo Exhibition Center. Speaking at the plenary session, Rustam Minnikhanov said that the forum has become one of business cards of Tatarstan. 

In his video greeting the Chairman of the Russian Government Mikhail Mishustin stated that having acquired the federal status, the Kazan Digital Week has become an additional channel which makes it possible to get feedback from the business community and to take it into consideration when developing most important state decisions. “I am sure that proposals to be voiced at the forum these days will make a substantial contribution into implementation of the errands of Russian President in achievement of the technological sovereignty,” the Russian Prime Minister added. 

Mikhail Mishustin informed that the federal government launched new financial tools, including bonds and corporate treasure loans to develop maximum comfortable conditions for the IT business and to stimulate development and launching of new products.

“Currently the demand for Russian technologies has increased by more than ten times and the amount of implementation of domestic solutions and services – by nearly a quarter having exceeded 2 trillion rubles,” he concluded. 

Rustam Minnikhanov said that today there is a fierce competition in the IT sphere in the world and sanctions are one of its instruments. “The President of the country put forward the task of achieving the technological sovereignty and we must use all resources and capacities to implement it”, he emphasized. 

In his speech he also told about the developed IT infrastructure of the republic, including IT parks, the Special Economic Zone of Innopolis with its 342 companies and 112 bn rubles of investments and the high-tech industries developing in Tatarstan. He also mentioned leaders in IT developments such as the Sberbank technological hub and VK. 

Rustam Minnikhanov told the participants of the session about unmanned vehicles being developed at the KAMAZ Automaker and the Year of Digitalization held at the republic last year, the result of which was transferring all 319 public services into the e-form. 

The Rais of the republic also told about digitalization introduced in education and healthcare and the housing utility services and said that due to the methodical efforts Tatarstan ranks the first in the federal digitalization ranking.

He also informed that 81 per cent of households in the republic have access to the broad-band Internet and told about the comprehensive system of occupational guidance and training of people of all ages in the IT sphere, starting from kindergartens and up to the elderly people. 

In conclusion he wished the participant of the forum fruitful work, interesting projects and their successful implementation.

Maksut Shadayev said that the Government will mainly focus on supporting digitalization of large industrial enterprises. “The programme of financial participation will go on and those companies which have to replace foreign software will get federal co-financing,” he said. 

He also informed that as the national programme of Digital Economy is coming to an end, a new national programme of Economy of Data will be developed with the aim of transferring the whole economy, social sphere and power bodies to the qualitatively new work principles and implementation of data based governance.