Tigran Sargsyan: EAEU+ smaller economies cannot implement digital transformation without integration
St. Petersburg, 1 November 2021. EAEU+ smaller economies, which include some of the member states of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), will not be able to implement digital transformation outside of the union. Failure to keep up with integration processes might result in the loss of their sovereignty. Tigran Sargsyan, Vice Chairman of the EDB Management Board, stated this at the plenary session of the 9th Eurasian Economic Perspective International Forum in St. Petersburg.
“Digital transformation suggests the transition of society through digitalisation to a new technological order,” said Tigran Sargsyan. “It is also an element in the formation of a new state and social order.”
EAEU+ countries do not just benefit from this comprehensive process, but critically need to implement it together by joining forces and taking advantage of scale. Otherwise, they risk losing their digital sovereignty.
Tigran Sargsyan believes that digital sovereignty means the autonomy of a state in managing digital transformation and shaping a new ecosystem that excludes possible external influences on its functioning and sustainability. At the same time, the use of the solutions devised by transnational corporations undermines EAEU+ countries’ sovereignty.
“For the EAEU, digital sovereignty is a two-tiered task that suggests the securing of the digital sovereignties of all the Union’s member states and the achievement of its own sovereignty by integrating national capacities and competencies. This can be achieved despite the alleged difficulties. These are not technology-related difficulties as they are surmountable, but psychological ones. It is time to stop seeing the digital agenda through the prism of our old understanding of integration. Instead, it should be seen in the new context where everything new and shared is a step towards prosperity and sovereignty. Today’s patriotism is about making a digital technological breakthrough happen. This is the most important in securing the sovereignty of the EAEU countries and it can be achieved through integration only,” added Tigran Sargsyan.
Tigran Sargsyan is confident that this goal can be achieved by establishing a relevant institutional framework. The EDB Fund for Digital Initiatives has become the first institution to ensure the EAEU’s digital sovereignty.
Additional Information:
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution promoting integration and development in its member countries. For 15 years, the Bank has worked to strengthen and broaden economic ties and foster comprehensive development in its member countries – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, and Tajikistan. The EDB's charter capital totals US $7 billion. The EDB’s portfolio mainly consists of projects with an integration effect in the areas of transport infrastructure, digitalisation, green energy, agriculture, industry, and mechanical engineering. The Bank adheres to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles in its operations.
The Eurasian Development Bank’s Fund for Digital Initiatives was established by the Bank’s Council on 30 June 2020. The Fund’s objective is to assist EDB member states in creating digital transformation tools and practices by integrating their information resources and participating in the development and financing of projects, including those implemented under the Eurasian Economic Union’s Digital Agenda 2025.
The EDB Media Centre:
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Sergey Gorbachev +7 (916) 727 22 00 (Moscow)