KISDI and the World Bank held "Korea-World Bank Workshop in Serbia: Mobile Broadband and Applications for Development ICT Ecosystem and Priorities" on Dec 21 (Tue) at the Serbian Parliamentarian's Club, to share Korea's development experience and the World Bank's knowhow in the field, and discuss future direction of ICT advancement in Serbia.

The workshop was especially focused on Korea's strategies and experience in mobile broadband business, with Serbia's demand for mobile broadband service taken into account as requested by the country's government. The workshop also entailed in-depth discussion on how to develop the mobile broadband and service sector in Serbia.

Mr. Hyeon-jun Lee from the Korean Embassy in Serbia and Mr. Deepak Bhatia with the World Bank opened the conference, shortly followed by the welcoming remarks by Vice Minister Miloš Stevanovi? of the Serbian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society (MTIS). The workshop was then led by the participants' presentations and discussions on significant issues for policy making in developing countries, such as mobile broadband-related policies that are in place and the current status of ICT ecosystem development.

Under the theme of the latest trend of mobile broadband in Korea and implications for developing nations, the morning session delivered presentations by: Dr. Jeong-min Kim (KISDI) on KISDI's policy consultation and expert dispatch projects; Mr. In-seok Choi (SK Telecom) on mobile technology's contribution to social and economic progress; Dr. Hee-su Kim (KISDI) on the importance of mobile broadband and global trends in the broadband sector; and Mr. Do-kyeong Kim (KT) on the increase of data traffic and the consequent sophistication of mobile networks. The session concluded after a lively discussion by the speakers.

In the afternoon session, Ms. Irena Posin (MTIS), Mr. Milan Jankovi? (Republic Agency for Telecommunications, RATEL), Dr. Sang-yeol Nam (KISDI), Mr. Deepak Bhatia and Mr. Yong-hyeon Kwon (World Bank) spoke about the present state of ICT in Serbia and ICT ecosystem.

Ms. Posin and Mr. Jankovi? presented on the Serbain ICT Development Strategy 2020, and the current framework of ICT regulation in Serbia, respectively. Dr. Nam, Mr. Bhatia, and Mr. Kwon spoke about the mobile business ecosystem and e-Government before continuing with an in-depth discussion with the Serbian representatives.     

Mr. Bhatia expressed his hope to work with Serbia on the World Bank's ICT policy consultation project. He also praised the workshop saying that it provided valuable contribution to Serbia's ICT strategy making through the sharing of development experience of Korea, which is one of the most advanced countries in ICT.

On the following day of the workshop (Dec 22, Wed), the Korean delegation paid a visit to the MTIS and RATEL to hear the briefing on Serbia's ICT policy and regulation by Serbian policy makers. The Serbian representatives came to agreement after listening to the Korean counterparts explanation on mobile broadband policy and regulation, that market opening and fair competition will determine the future of Serbia's ICT industry. 

The primary goal of the workshop was for KISDI to undertake the World Bank cooperation project more effectively and maximize the project's benefits by identifying the needs of Serbian government officials. The workshop was deemed successful as it enabled Korea and Serbia to exchange their knowledge and experience in mobile broadband, and allowed KISDI and the World Bank to create more practical and knowledge-based guideline for developing nations.
 
MTIS Minister Jasna Matic also spoke fondly of the workshop in his interview with a specialist from the World Bank that the event provided a precious opportunity for Serbia to share policy experience with Korea, while expressing his keen interest in the expert dispatch project for 2011.

Contact for inquiry : Seung-yeon Lee (+82-2-570-4213)