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SARAJEVO, July 1 (FENA) - The regional agreement on reducing roaming prices is a successful regional story and in July 2021 the Western Balkans six are heading to zero roaming tariffs.
Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), at the RCC-organized Western Balkans ICT Ministerial Meeting: ‘Western Balkans fit for Digital Age’ said this today.
She reminded that on this date a year ago we started paying less money for our phone bills, as the Regional Roaming Agreement entered into force reducing roaming costs across the region.
Data traffic increased for more than 60%, outgoing calls in roaming for more than 140%. So now we can talk, text and surf more.
According to Balkan Barometer 2020 results 35% of Western Balkans citizens saved money after Roaming agreement entered the force.
On the digital front, BB2020 indicates that use of internet is increasing with 69% of Western Balkans citizens using it as a tool in communication. 78% of businesses in Western Balkans consider digital skills very important for conducting their businesses and 55% provide some form of training to upgrade their workers’ digital skills.
The meeting gathered Minister of Transport and Communications Vojin Mitrovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Minister of Economy and Environment Blerim Kuci from Kosovo*, Minister of Information Society and Administration Damjan Manchevski from North Macedonia, Director-General - Directorate-General Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR) Christian Danielsson, Montenegrin State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy Milan Srzentic, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Dorina Cinari from Albania and Assistant Minister for Electronic Communications and Postal Services Irini Reljin from Serbia to discuss Digital transformation agenda 2021-2024 as the backbone of the socio-economic recovery of the Western Balkans and to lay grounds for “Western Balkans fit for Digital Age”, future regional digital transformation initiative that will also constitute an essential part of the consolidated RCC’s REA Agenda 2021-2024.
The sizable investment package from EC (EUR 3,3 billion) to be launched in fall is a golden opportunity for the region as digital investments will have an important part in it, RCC announced.
(FENA) A. B.
