Russian Prime Minister urges EEU to achieve technological sovereignty

Astana, Feb 3 (EFE).- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Friday called on the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to work towards “technological sovereignty” in his speech at the Digital Almaty international forum, which is held annually in Kazakhstan’s largest city.

“All governments of the union should strive to achieve technological sovereignty,” Mishustin said, stressing that it was a key issue for important infrastructure security and economic development.

He added that the current products are convenient, but warned that at any moment access to them can be lost, “which in the absence of proprietary or alternative solutions will lead to a chronic slowdown to the rest of the world”.

The Russian prime minister also admitted that none of the five countries that make up the EEU – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia – has a large enough consumer market to support the development of cutting-edge technologies.

“But on the basis of cooperation we are able to achieve them,” he said.

For his part, Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov proposed the creation of a “digital competence center” based in Almaty, which could become a “platform for the creation and implementation of major digital initiatives within the EEU framework.”

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