1. IT Sector Development in Belarus Vera Skvortsova, Belarus Embassy in Latvia

2. Founder of the United Nations First towns founded in 11th century Statehood – since 1919 In USSR – since 1922 Sovereign – 27.07.1990 Independent – 25.08.1991 The President of the Republic of Belarus is the Head of State The legislative body of the Republic of Belarus is the National Assembly consisting of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. The executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. Area – 206 700 km 2 Population – 9,9 mln. GDP growth – 9.2% (2005 vs 2004) SHARE IN GDP Industry27,4% Transport and communication9%9% Agriculture7,5% Trade and public services9,7% Construction7 %

3. Belarusian universities: 12 thousand IT specialists a year Government support: 6.5 percent of the national budget Belarus: adult literacy rate – 99.7% Programmers’ technical level (IBM, Lotus, Sun, Novell, Microsoft and other world IT leaders’ training centres) is equal and even higher than that of counterparts in Western Europe and the US Facts and Figures

4. Information Society and Information Technologies  Super computer “Skif” was the result of rapid development of information technologies. So far, we use it for finite element analysis of machine-building constructions, yet this computer provides even more ample opportunities UIIP (Minsk), Research Institute of computers (Minsk), "Ò-Platform" (Moscow) IPS (Pereslavl-Zaleski) Read further: http://www.basnet.by

5. Information Society and Information Technologies Approximately 600 companies and organizations operate on the ICT market of Belarus. The estimated number of software developers, web designers, network administrators, and other technical personnel working in the IT sector is 40,000 (Belarus Country Readiness Assessment Report, UN Economic Commission for Europe, 2002).

6. Information Society and Information Technologies Belarusian IT companies are committed to providing high quality services and solutions and seek to comply with the latest international standards. In October 2003, the two largest Belarusian enterprises, EPAM Systems and IBA Group, were the first in Europe to achieve the SEI CMMI® (Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model Integration) Level 4 Rating. Read further: http://www.epam.by and http://www.iba.by

7. Welcome to Belarus Silicon Valley Read further: http://park.by/

8. Competition Continues Fax +375-17-2260610 http://park.by/ e-mail: info@park.by Ph. +375-17-2223545 1 st prize – contract 2 nd prize – 15 mln. BRB 3 rd prize – 8 mln. BRB Tender on the architectural design of the High-Tech Park. Applications welcome by 14.04.2006

9. The State Programme «E-Belarus» Official title: State Programme on Informatisation of the Republic of Belarus for years 2003-2005 till year 2010 «Electronic Belarus» Programme objective: Formation of the common information environment as one of the steps toward information society and joining the world information community. Development and improvement of information and communication infrastructure, including network of state authorities and enterprises, communications networks and data transfer systems (including telephone lines) should become the basis for such an environment. Read further: http://www.ncpi.gov.by/ and http://www.pravo.by/

10. National Programs to Support ICT Development Development of Model Family of High Performance Computing Systems with Parallel Architecture (Supercomputers). Development and Use of Space Means and Technologies of Reception, Processing and Display of Space Information for 1999–2002 and Development and Use of Perspective Space Means and Technologies in the Interest of Economic, Scientific, and Technical Development for 2003–2006. Protection of Common Information Resources of Belarus and Russia. State program of basic researches “Theoretical Bases of New Information Technologies for 2001–2005” State program “Advanced Information and Telecommunication Technologies (Information Technologies) for 2001–2005" State program “Development of Methods and Tools of Integrated Information Security Systems (Information Protection) for 2001–2005" State scientific and technical program “CAD/CAM Technologies of New Production for 2001–2005” State program "Development of Research and Information Computer Network (NIKS) of Belarus for 2001–2003".

11. Total length of the high-speed transport networks reaches 36 000 km

12. Fibre-optical trunk lines connect Minsk and regional centres

13. Added value of communication services in GNP2005 = 2%; 2005 fee based services growth = 34.5%; Growth of phone users during 2005 – 108000, in total – 92 % of rural settlements; 2005 annual growth of GSM and CDMA services subscribers = 1.67 mln., February 2006 = 4.3531 mln.; Mobile penetration level in Belarus is reported as 43.56%; TV channels receive the majority of population: 2 channels – 97.35%, 3 channels – 86.75%; 4 channels and more – 74.93%; digital – 23.38%; Radio broadcasting: 3 programmes – 95.30%; 4 programmes – 92.72%; stereo channels – 98.47%. Communication read further: http://www.mfa.gov.by and http://www.development.by

14. E-shopping and Digital Lifestyle Shop.by Open.by Onliner.by cash bank transfer on-line (WebMoney, EasyPay)

15. E-commerce B2B, B2A, C2A, B2C

16. E-trade Public Tender Advertising The most effective way to combat corruption is to provide transparency and openness in activities of governmental officials in particular and governmental authorities in general. Introduction of e- trade system will contribute to transparency and effectiveness of state tenders, thus leading to reduction of budgetary expenditures by 15%. Placing Information in the Internet Purchase Enterprises Budgetary Tenders and Subsidies - Open Tender - Closed Tender Public Tenders Goods Directories

17. Surfing & Searching BY – net: Opportunities for Optimization ALL.BY ~ 24 000 hits a day TUT.BY ~ 160 000 hits a day AKAVITA.BY ~ 2 000 hits a day POISK.COM ~ 600 hits a day TELEGRAF.BY ~ 4 500 hits a day BY net is well integrated into RU net 2002 ~ 1 140 000 surfers 2004 ~ 2 461 093 surfers I-net surfers in Belarus BY search engines average characteristics

18. IT in Aerospace Research Belarus was known for software and hardware development for military- industrial complex of the whole Soviet Union. These were Belarusian IT specialists who had made possible an unprecedented landing of the unmanned “Buran” spacecraft.

19. IT in Everyday Life Our task is not only to develop the existing potential of IT industry in Belarus, but also to provide for transformation of conventional economy spheres, based on modern technologies that apply to all spheres of life ranging from industry and agriculture to education, health care, defense and national security.

20. “Gartner” and “Forrester Research” analytics recognise Belarus as a leading East European country in software development. A new possibility for IT specialists will be offered by the High Technology Park making ICT address a wide range of challenges.

21. Today’s task is to develop the information infrastructure of the Belarusian society, so that everyone, using the advanced technologies, could get the necessary and useful information for themselves thus enjoying public and private services.

22. A country of blue lakes and virgin forests, great prospects for leisure and relaxation. Tolerance, high scientific and cultural levels of Belarusians favor coexistence among various nationalities and further exploration of extensive business opportunities.