CONFERENCE ON REGIONAL E-BUSINESS HELD AT ZAGREB FORUM

ZAGREB, May 14 (Hina) - The exchange of experience and intensifying of cooperation among countries in the region is the purpose of the "E-Business in the Region" conference, which started at the 3rd Business Forum in Zagreb on Wednesday. #L# The conference was organised by the ministries of transport, science and technology, economy and the Infoforum company. The event gathered experts and representatives of institutions from Slovenia, Hungary, Romania and Croatia. Technology integrates the global market and the process of national economies drawing closer to the world e-community should be headed by governments. In that regard, Croatia has prepared a bill on telecommunications and information technology, Deputy Transport Minister Pavao Komadina said, announcing a world summit on information technology, to be held in Croatia this year. Although the process should be headed by governments, it must also include business, technology and academic communities who should cooperate, not only on the national, but on the regional level as well. The traditional traffic infrastructure is no longer sufficient for a country's development, especially for small countries like Slovenia and Croatia, said Joze Gricar, a professor at the Maribor University's E-Commerce Centre. This particularly refers to countries in the region which are drawing closer to the EU, i.e. technologically much more advanced countries. Aspiring countries will have to speed up their technological development considerably despite obstacles, of which the biggest one is an insufficiently competitive environment, Gricar said. (hina) rml