ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONCLUDES DEBATE ON SHARING KNOWLEDGE IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONCLUDES DEBATE ON SHARING

KNOWLEDGE IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 4 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council concluded formal debate this morning on its "coordination segment", dedicated this year to "the role of the United Nations in promoting development, particularly with access to and transfer of knowledge and technology, especially information and communication technology, inter alia, through partnerships with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector".

A representative of Algeria said that while information and communication technology (ICT) had potential for accelerating economic growth, deep concern was felt that this potential was to a large extent unavailable in developing countries, thus further widening the gap between developed and developing countries; and that obstacles to participation in the ICT revolution had to be eliminated.

A representative of Belarus stressed that measures to enhance ICT progress also were necessary in countries undergoing transition from planned to market economies.

Other countries addressing the meeting were Tunisia, Pakistan, and Bahrain.

Statements

SERGE ANOSHKO (Belarus) said the international community's efforts in advancing ICT should take into account the interests of States at varying levels of economic and social development.  Transfer of such technology was not taking place in a vacuum, but was related to the capacities of those involved.  Countries in transition needed further help to improve their capacities in ICT.  Partnerships in building such networks needed to be expanded and strengthened.  And the development of models for cooperation between the United Nations system and the private sector that were balanced and favourable for both sides was vital.

Many States were not able to take advantage of ICT advances; the least developed countries were the least connected.  Belarus had enacted legislation on electronic documents and information focusing on problems in the country linked to the local community as well as international information problems; Belarus felt it

had an intellectual contribution to make to the global ICT system and was attempting to mobilize further resources to apply ICT to social, economic, cultural, education, and health matters.

HATEM BEN SALEM (Tunisia) said that paragraph 55 in the report of the Secretary-General of 2 May 2001 invoked the organization of the World Summit on Information Society by the year 2003.  In that regard, Tunisia had observed that the summit had been conceived by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as an evolving process which concentrated on the main phases and not as a world event which had a time limit.  The World Summit on Information Society would be a catalyst in view of strengthening the synergies and cooperation between the different organizations and United Nations systems in the field of development through the new information technologies.  Tunisia was the initiator of the World Summit on Information Society during the ITU conference held in Minneapolis in 1998.  Also, Tunisia was proud to have been selected as host country to the second phase of the World Summit to take place in 2005.

The mobilization of financial resources as well as the transfer of technologies would be among the priorities of the Tunis summit in order to close the “digital divide” which separated the two hemispheres.  The summit would play a pivotal role in designing a plan of action in the spirit of partnerships between the North and South.  The Tunis summit would also give the opportunity for NGOs of the South to fully participate with their Northern counterparts and other private partners.

HOCINE SAHRAOUI (Algeria) said developing countries had come to appreciate possible spin-offs from the new ICT economy as a way of enhancing their own development.  A recent meeting in Jakarta had adopted an important declaration on this topic.  Among its elements was that while ICT had a potential for accelerating economic growth, deep concern was felt that this potential was to a large extent unavailable in developing countries, thus further deepening the gap between developed and developing; and that obstacles to participation in the ICT revolution had to be eliminated.  The declaration called for the fostering of digital opportunities for all through establishment of partnerships of all relevant actors.  The agencies of the United Nations system had a major role to play in achieving this goal.

Partnerships must generate new and additional resources, and must not be a substitute for official development assistance (ODA).  Africa, moreover, must as a matter of priority receive additional funding and international attention in the effort to enhance ICT capacities.

IMTIAZ HUSSAIN (Pakistan) said that the transition to the twenty-first century had witnessed a quantum leap in the development and exploitation of technology with corresponding impact on the national and international strategies for economic development.  Knowledge and technology had become a key strategic source for job and wealth creation, and for shared prosperity and socio-economic development in the globalized world.  The global economy was entering a digital age and information had become integral to the economic development.  The developing countries, without access to the latest tools and technologies, were being further marginalized from competing in the global marketplace.  The uncomfortable reality was that the world was more polarized today.  The gap between haves and have-nots was being further accentuated due to the increasing gap between knows and know-nots.  It was rapidly dividing into information-rich

and information-hungry nations, between affluent and poor societies, and between disenfranchised and socially global classes.

The creation of a United Nations ICT task force was an important first step.  It would seek to identify positive actions much needed to bridge the global digital divide, and would also generate positive momentum to deal with the systemic issues afflicting the international economic and financial architecture.

SAEED AL-FAIHANI (Bahrain) said his country felt it was very important to deal with the ICT divide between developed and developing countries.  The gap had to be closed or it would be to the detriment of both sides and would result in a divided world.  The ICT revolution had changed all aspects of life, and the private sector, with its rapid innovations, was playing a major role.  Accordingly the private sector had an obligation to help and to transfer knowledge to those who were not yet sufficiently connected to ICT systems.

Knowledge and development of technology were vital for sustained development and economic growth, and could help developing countries link themselves to the global economy.  An opportunity had to be provided for enough education to enable developing countries to understand and apply new communication technologies.  Bahrain, for its part, had done much to reduce the costs of education and to provide university education that was among the least expensive in the world.  The United Nations must continue to promote funding and partnerships for spreading ICT knowledge and capacity, while at the same time respecting local cultures.

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