Tatjana Matić opened the 64th Technical Fair

The 64th International Fair of Techniques and Technical Innovations opened its gates to visitors on May 24, 2022.

During the grand opening ceremony, it was said that this year the Belgrade Fair is celebrating its 85th anniversary, since the pre-war year 1937. Although the year 1957 is taken as the “zero” event of the Technical Fair, the historical context will show that the true first edition of this exceptional manifestation of exclusive global dimensions took place 20 years earlier – precisely in pre-war 1937. It was then the first fair manifestation of the newly founded Belgrade Fair.

Officially, the first post-war fair manifestation – the Specialized International Fair of Techniques and Technical Achievements – was held in 1957, and therefore this year celebrates two birthdays – the 65th and the 85th.

In the meantime, for those six and a half decades, the Technical Fair has not been moved from its historical position by any crises, conflicts and troubles. On the contrary, it remained the most prestigious technical and technological specialized regional manifestation in this part of Europe, a support for development and regional cooperation in the field of technology and innovation. This is what more than 500 participants of the fair from thirty countries are talking about.

It was also said that a significant part of the credit for the success of the Technical Fair belongs to the Government of the Republic of Serbia, whose bodies and ministries support the development concepts of technological and technical institutes and institutions in many different ways.

Opening the Technical Fair, the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Tatjana Matić, congratulated the Fair on its “two birthdays” and recalled the merits of the Fair in the development of technique and technology.

She said that the Fourth Industrial Revolution contributed to the development of artificial intelligence and changed the way of doing business and accelerated technical and technological achievements. “It speaks of the necessity of educating young people in this field, but also of investing in infrastructure for the sake of a better future for all of us.”

“In that context,” said the minister, “one of the main priorities of the relevant Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications is digitization, where the digital gap between urban and rural areas is a big challenge.” That is why the key project of the Ministry is the construction of a broadband network in rural areas. So far, funds have been provided for approximately 1,000 rural settlements with over 150,000 households, which will receive access to high-speed Internet, while 900 school facilities in the most rural areas will receive free Internet access. The value of this investment is over EUR 150 million.”

“Another capital project implemented by the relevant ministry is the ‘Connected Schools’ project, which aims to digitize the education system. In support of all these processes, last year the Ministry adopted a strategy for the development of the information society and information security”.

Declaring the Technical Fair open, Minister Matić concluded that “technology and innovation are levers for overcoming any crisis, and today new technological solutions are needed more than ever before.” This is where the extraordinary importance of this fair event lies.”