Introductory Remarks by Mr. Jong-Soon Lee

Opening Statement by Mr. Kim Hak-Su

Bangkok, August 22, 2001

Dr. Kim,

Distinguished representatives of UN Agencies and other intergovernmental organisations,

Thanks very much for giving me the honor of the first speaker at the first inter agency coordination meeting on ICT. I would like to discuss with you about a few points of ICT for the socio-economic development and in the integration of Asia Pacific region with the rest of the world.

Recently ICT has become a part of our routine in the form of e-mail, getting world news by CNN, ESPN, enjoying convenience of travel to use air lines and hotels with their ICT system. In short time, the routine will expand to the scope of tele-banking, tele-medicine, home shopping, and a lot more.

ICT has several innovative characteristics compared to the conventional communications of its nature such as, open access, intelligent function of saving, processing information, the enormous capacity and economy and the potential of technology development. 

ICT due to the characteristics, as a sector of its own, and also as a sector propelling the growth and development of other sectors of economy has wide applications and a variety of uses. Perhaps no sector can remain competitive without utilising the Information and Communication Technology in its various activities. Now we are somehow required to work to introduce ICT in our domain or developing the regional capacity of ICT. A substantial amount of work is already being done. Some agencies are also transforming their work culture into ICT. However, the knowledge about this large amount of high quality work has remained confined to a part of their sector of operation. Application of ICT often requires joint work of the related sectors or requires appropriate assistance of other sectors to achieve their objectives. There are many occasions when one agency finds its sister or sisters working for the similar objectives in similar area at the same time.

 Technological changes in the field of ICT are very rapid. The development of technology has to be absorbed smoothly into the market by the massage of the concerned sector. Creation of a sustainable market is essential for the continuation of the growth of ICT. This can be done only through our joint efforts. Efforts in which each one of us should participate wholeheartedly.

For quite sometime, I in the APT, was feeling that it will be very beneficial for us to know how other agencies develop their own work program to transforming into ICT and how APT can develop the projects to meet the requirement of others, so to say a opportunity of sharing the information concerning ICT activities.  In addition to bringing a synergy of efforts, it will also help the organisations in identifying partners for joint projects, in cultivating new ideas and, of course, in avoiding clash of programmes.

Dr. Kim, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you for giving excellent opportunity currently needed by all of us. We can fruitfully utilise the presence of our colleagues from various agencies for discussing our programmmes and problems as well as the possible areas of cooperation.

In view of the rapid changes taking place in the ICT sector, I recommend that this inter agency meeting should be convened at regular intervals. An appropriate mechanism should be developed for a frequent exchange of views and sharing of information.

I thank Dr. Kim and our colleagues in ESCAP & Dr. Calvano and our friend in ITU for their support and active involvement for preparation of the meeting. I thank you all for your presence and look forward to having a very practical outcome of the meeting, with your active participation.

Bangkok, August 22, 2001

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Interagency Coordination Meeting on Information and Communication Technology(ICT).  As you are aware, the United Nations Millennium Declaration adopted at the Millennium Summit held in September 2000 resolved to ensure that the benefits of new technology, especially ICT, in conformity with recommendations contained in the ECOSOC 2000 Ministerial Declaration, are available to all.

The world economy is in the midst of a profound transformation.  Spurred on by breakthroughs in ICT in particular, the global information revolution has created the potential for accelerating broad-based growth and sustainable development, including poverty alleviation in developing countries.  It is also redefining the ways companies do business in every economic sector and it is vastly expanding the range of opportunities for entrepreneurs to create entrepreneurs to create innovative products and pioneer new markets.  But, inevitably, not all countries around the world and the region have benefited equally in the transition to the new global economy.  On every relevant measure-from the size and penetration of telecommunications markets or the extent of Internet diffusion to the level of global electronic commerce and so on-the vast majority of economic activity related to ICT is concentrated in the industrialized world.  Conversely, developing countries-and especially the least developed countries, island developing countries and economies in transition-account for a small fraction of the global digital economy.  Concerns about these disparities between developed and developing member countries, especially with respect to Internet access and use, have touched off a worldwide debate about the existence of a global digital divide.

There are many initiatives and activities at all levels in the Asian and Pacific region attempting to address this challenge.  This diversity of efforts is essential, because there are no universal solutions to different regional, national and local conditions and needs.  The development impact of these initiatives and projects could be significantly enhanced through strengthening synergies, ensuring complementarities, promoting awareness and through supporting, replicating and scaling-up of successful practices.

Keeping this in mind, ESCAP, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) are jointly organizing this Interagency Meeting of the United Nations and intergovernmental organizations concerned with the work of ICT in Asia and the Pacific with the main objective of initiating the process of consultations, including exchange of experiences and Information on activities in the field of ICT on a regular basis.  We believe that such consultations will promote synergy and increase the effectiveness of our efforts.

Because of the pervasive and strategic nature of ICT in the modern knowledge society, this technology has come to the forefront of the ESCAP activities in our three thematic programme areas of poverty alleviation, managing globalization and emerging social issues.

Indeed, wide application and development of ICT is vital for managing globalization for the benefit of developing countries.  ICT has also proved to be powerful tool for reducing poverty and dealing with other social issues as empowerment of disadvantage social groups, eradication of diseases as well as protection of environment.

Taking into account, the far-reaching implications of ICT application and development for developing countries, ESCAP promotes and interdisciplinary approach to dealing with ICT involving all concerned ESCAP Divisions.  While we have accumulated experience and expertise in this area, we are interested and willing to cooperate with other regional organizations in supporting national efforts of countries in the region to facilitate in the development and application of ICT and mainstreaming the lagging economies, in particular, in order to bridge the digital divide between countries and within countries of the region.

I firmly believe that through greater cooperation and coordination, we can together make a greater contribution to the social and economic development of the region.

I wish the meeting every success.

Thank you.