El Presidente de Cuti, Ing. Leonardo Loureiro, y miembros de la Directiva mantuvieron el pasado miércoless 2 de setiembre una reunión en Torre Ejecutiva con el Presidente de la República, Luis Lacalle Pou, y el Ministro de Industria, Omar Paganini.
It was a meeting in which they exchanged proposals aimed at promoting Uruguay Tecnológico from different areas.
From Uruguay to the World
As the latest annual survey of Cuti shows, the United States is the main destination for exports of the sector. The meeting discussed the importance of this market and the interest in strengthening the positioning of Uruguay as a strategic business partner in that country.
To strengthen the presence of the sector in the United States, it was proposed to the President of the Republic to lead a sectoral mission in 2021 to the East Coast of that country. Likewise, the positive valuation of the existence of a Consulate in that region, with a focus on technology, was also mentioned. The activity being carried out by Ignacio González, Consul of Uruguay in San Francisco is positively evaluated; and reinforces the relevance of promoting the sector from the diplomatic missions, also constituting themselves as promoters of Technological Uruguay.
The need for double taxation treaties was one of the questions raised by the Minister Omar Paganini, to which the dialogue being held with the Foreign Ministry and Uruguay XXI regarding this issue was pointed out. In particular, the Brazilian market, another focus country for the industry, which by applying very high retentions is not attractive for our sector, but having a service agreement could have a high impact on exports not only of our sector, but also of global services. In addition, there is an asymmetry, since Uruguay applies half of the retentions to Brazilian companies. President Luis Lacalle Pou expressed his willingness to manage these issues directly with the Brazilian government.
Uruguay as a hub for access to the Latin American market, as well as "sand-box" for testing certain technologies, were other topics discussed at the meeting, which from Cuti are considered of interest, not only to attract investment but also for the positioning of technological Uruguay.
Talent as a fundamental pillar
Cuti pointed out the unsatisfied demand for talent in the sector, which is estimated at around 2,500 people at all levels. Being talent a basic resource for the development of the industry, the need to attract and train more people in IT was highlighted, for which it was proposed the expansion and updating of the educational offer, aiming at a greater insertion in the interior of the country and incorporating computational thinking and programming as subjects within the educational curriculum from an early age.
In this sense, reference was made to the meeting held days before with the authorities of CODICEN, UTU and CES, highlighting the work done in the Development Plan presented by ANEP, which includes concepts such as digital literacy, understood not as the management of computers or programs that inhabit them, but as skills necessary for today's digital world.
At the same time, the importance of young people in public education having the same opportunities and acquiring the same knowledge that is taught in private education was emphasized, avoiding a digital divide in this regard.
For greater participation of women in IT
Linked to the need for talent in the industry in Uruguay, the existing gender inequality was also highlighted, as a consequence of women not choosing STEM-related careers.
In this regard, the activity carried out by the Inter-institutional Roundtable of Women in Science, Innovation and Technology (MIMCIT) was highlighted. It is composed of more than 20 representatives of organizations, agencies and institutions of Uruguay that work in areas related to scientific, technological development and/or innovation in the educational, productive, research and design and management of public policies with a gender approach. Its objective is to generate knowledge, recommendations and actions for the construction of public policies that promote gender equality in the aforementioned areas linked to science, innovation and technology.
Currently, MIMCIT is not active and given the relevance of the work it carries out, the need for its reactivation was raised.
Software Donation
Due to Uruguay's GDP level, in 2019 our country went from being a recipient to a donor country. In this framework, it was proposed to the Government the generation of mechanisms for the donation of software developed for the state, to third countries. It is understood as a tool that will allow a certain dynamism. As a reference, the experience with the "Lucía" customs system, donated to the Government of Costa Rica and implemented by the Uruguayan company that developed it, was pointed out.
The proposal was received and Lacalle Pou proposed a direct way through the Presidency of the Republic to identify concrete cases for this purpose.
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