The Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an arm of the United Nations, Hamadoun I. Toure has expressed the need for the people of the world to collaborate in order to bridge the digital divide that has left the world with more concerns than ever. Using statistical details to buttress his point, he noted that two thirds of the world’s population represented by about 4.3 billion people are still offline.
While commending the leadership in the Asia Pacific region for the bold initiatives to connect the people he stressed that in the Asia-Pacific region, just over 68 per cent of people still have no Internet access, and the situation for broadband is even more challenging.
Touré made this remark at the opening of the Connect Asia Pacific Summit which was flagged off at the Impact Centre, Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday. “I firmly believe that we can succeed in achieving our mission to connect the world’s people – and that in doing so, we will see unprecedented social and economic improvement for all.”
ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun I. Toure
He said that the Asia-Pacific region has shown extraordinary progress in connecting people, with mobile penetration across the region close to 90 per cent. Mobile cellular penetration in Thailand is now approaching 130 per cent. “This region’s extraordinary progress can be highlighted by the fact that seven out of the 25 top performers in ITU’s ICT Development Index are from the Asia-Pacific region,” he said, adding that the Connect Asia-Pacific Summit was meeting to ensure that everyone in the region can access the opportunities and markets provided in the digital world.
He cautioned that the extra ordinary growth in the region should not blight the opportunity for growth because of the huge numbers of the people still unserved.
The Connect Asia Pacific Summit will be followed by the flagship event, ITU Telecom World 2013, which opens on Wednesday, 19th to 22nd November 2013 also at the Impact Convention Centre.
The Connect Asia-Pacific Summit with the theme : Asia-Pacific 2020; Smartly Digital was attended by Heads of State and Government, Ministers and industry leaders from the region, pushing forward a common vision for an inclusive, development-centred and innovative digital society.
The Connect Asia-Pacific Summit is organized by ITU in the framework of Connect the World Summits to mobilize human, financial and technical resources aimed at connecting the world through ICTs and facilitating investment, employment and broader social and economic development. It is the fifth and last in the series of Connect Summits, including the ITU Connect Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda in 2007; the ITU Connect CIS Summit in Minsk, Belarus in 2009; the Connect Arab States Summit in Doha, Qatar in 2012, and the Connect Americas Summit in Panama City in 2012.
The Prime Minister of Thailand Ms Yingluck Shinawatra was joined at the Summit by the President of Micronesia, the President of Nauru, the Prime Ministers of New Zealand, Pakistan, Tonga and Vanuatu, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a Video message, noted that the Asia-Pacific region is vast and diverse where many nations have experienced rapid economic growth and yet there is stark contrast in prosperity and development between high-income countries and the least developed. “I am pleased that this Summit will promote the development of innovative ICT infrastructure.”
“ICTs have considerable potential to support sustainable and equitable economic and social development. They can accelerate our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Let us make the best use of technology to empower people with the information, knowledge and means to improve their lives.”