In 2016, we launched the digital agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union. <...> The four main areas of focus identified in our digital agenda are digital transformation of markets, sectoral and cross-sectoral digital transformation, management system and security issues — Tigran Sargsyan, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Eurasian Development Bank.

The digital agenda goes across industries. Integration is impossible in any sectoral areas unless it is based on a solid digital basis. <...> Competitiveness of the integral association is determined by the ability to provide not only the transfer of goods, finances and labour resources, but, first and foremost, the transfer and integration of data — Maxim Akimov, Chief Executive Officer, Russian Post.

According to the World Bank, there is potential for 8 million new jobs. Plus, there is major potential to reduce costs for business—that’s about $50 billion. Thanks to digital technologies only, we can create a more favourable atmosphere for businesses — Tigran Sargsyan, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Eurasian Development Bank.

A number of studies shows that about 15.5% of the global GDP in 2016 was connected with the digital economy in one way or another. That share of global GDP <...> will constantly increase, and it will reach nearly 25% in the next few years — Cyril Muller, Vice-President, Europe and Central Asia, The World Bank Group.

One of the main challenges for our economies, both individually and for the entire Eurasian Union in general, is that we must address the issues of global competitiveness — Askar Mamin, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

There are certain reasons for concern over data protection, over preservation of sovereignty. And one can’t invest into digital economy without thinking about the consequences of such investments — Cyril Muller, Vice-President, Europe and Central Asia, The World Bank Group.

Speaking of such index as total factor productivity, we see that on a global scale it was lower. The growth of that index fell from 1.3% to 1%. At the same time, it should be noted that the higher rates we observed in the developing countries—around 1.9%—are also down to 1.5%, and in the developed countries it is down from 1.3% to 1% — Askar Mamin, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

We as a company had to change: to build different motivation systems, hire different people. For example, if there are no such people in the market, then to try to educate, to form such specialists ourselves. Let's say, there’s this new profession, the data-scientist. <...>So it's really a whole paradigm shift — Dmitriy Krasyukov, Chief Operating Officer, SAP CIS .

The success of digitalization, after all, is largely dependent on the scale effect. By developing projects within the Eurasian Economic Union we will, of course, get the scale for all our economies faster — Askar Mamin, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

One of the key elements of the strategy is comprehensive and equal approach to digitization of the economy. <...> I would like to show on Kazakhstan’s example that in one of the basic branches of the economy—uranium mining—saw the increase in labour productivity by 10% — Askar Mamin, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Undoubtedly, it is the definition of approaches to the identity of citizens, goods, business processes, transactions in order to create the unified digital environment of trust — Maxim Akimov, Chief Executive Officer, Russian Post.

The concept of ecosystems is already moving to phase two. And my advice will be to make those decisions faster, because creating the digital ecosystem is very important for digital transformation in order to get the opportunity to create the most impressive programmes on basis of those platforms — Bruno Berthon, Managing Director, Accenture.

Perhaps, we can talk about this kind of soft regulation, the development of supranational recommendations, which with some degree of depth can be implemented on a national basis. There is a similar experience in the European Union — Maxim Akimov, Chief Executive Officer, Russian Post.

We now need to actually combine the cultures that, at the first glance, are very poorly combined, but which must unite nonetheless. That is the culture aimed primarily at security, reliability and quality <...> and the second culture—the digital culture, which number one word is ‘change’. We need to create this symbiosis without losing a bit of safety, reliability and quality, but at the same time become flexible and rapidly changing — Ekaterina Solntseva, Chief Digital Officer, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM.