VISION AND MISSION VISION The Republic of Macedonia – an advanced Information Society. MISSION Enabling aggressive introduction and massively and efficient use of electronic communications and information technologies that will contribute to make the Republic of Macedonia a part of the global networked economy and to achieve a significant leap frogging in the economy. INTRODUCTION The industrial world is entering a phase of fundamental changes that concern almost all aspects of life, resulting in the creation of an Information Society. In order to achieve its vision of becoming an advanced Information Society the Republic of Macedonia must resolve many issues, a number of them (those relating to electronic communications) are discussed in this document. In the new information and communication age, the leaders (countries, regions, companies and individuals) will be those that have taken timely the right decisions based on in-depth understanding of these trends. The ones that will not act accordingly risk remaining in stagnation. The development of the Information Society should be based on partnership among the Government, the civil sector, the private sector, the operators, the local governments and all other stakeholders. Sustainable economic development is a benefit resulting from the development of the Information Society, as well as an instigator of that process. It is also an important factor in the early phases of the development when the critical mass is created of interested stakeholders devoted to the advancement of the Information Society in the Republic of Macedonia. The National Strategy for Development of Electronic Communications with Information Technologies should be pro-active, that is it should respond actively to each change in the technology, and at the same time it should be consistent and in line with other policies and activities dealing with the development of information society in the country. Hence, the National Strategy for Development of Electronic Communications with Information Technologies and the adopted National Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Republic of Macedonia comprise a single concept that will give the directives for the creation of a new digital environment, i.e. they will create a pro-active environment necessary for the development of the new digital economy. Page 1 of 40