UPDATE: Russia should keep digital sovereignty in econ devt – official

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VLADIVOSTOK, Sep 5 (PRIME) -- Russia should maintain its “digital sovereignty” while developing the digital economy, Deputy Communications and Mass Media Minister Sergei Kalugin said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

“The digital economy is much spoken about now; there are programs, and many say they’ll build various platforms. Although in order to build a normal platform for a smart city, it will take billions of U.S. dollars,” Kalugin said.

“There is also a very important story of the digital sovereignty, because if everything is of foreign make, it will bring nothing good.”

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in July endorsed a digital economy program until 2024. The economy’s digitalization is a matter of global competitiveness and national security of the country, he said then.

Kalugin also said that financing of the digital economy program is being discussed. “It’s more important not how much money the government will give, but how much money subjects, companies, and corporations will invest in the transformation,” he said.

In general, transition to the fourth industrial revolution, dubbed as Industry 4.0, will cost the world trillions of dollars, he said.

International consulting company PwC explained that Industry 3.0 aims at automatization of some machines and processes, while Industry 4.0 stipulates digitalization of all physical assets and their integration in the digital ecosystem along with the partners participating in the creation of value.

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