Arab States plan for WTDC’10

The Arab States Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) for the forthcoming ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference 2010 (WTDC-10), which ended recently in Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, with a consensus on regional strategies to foster the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), reports CHARLES OKOH.

Delegates at the event agreed on strategies and priorities that would serve as inputs to WTDC 2010, which is planned to take place in Hyderabad, India on May 24 through 4 June this year.

The Director, International Telecommunication Union (ITU’s) Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), Mr. Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, ITU Deputy Secretary-General Houlin Zhao and Syria’s Minister of Communications and Technology Mr. Imad Sabouni, in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online noted that in ICT development in the Arab States, particularly in mobile communications, there is room for improvement in broadband access.

They also said, it has become critical to accelerate the diffusion of e-applications and services as well as contribute to rapid socio-economic development.

He emphasized the importance of the RPM for setting priorities ahead of WTDC-10 aimed at establishing an effective ICT development plan for the next four years.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Zhao spoke of the active participation of the Arab States in ITU Telecom World 2009, demonstrating their strong interest in telecommunication investment and affirming their place among the top competitors in the world telecommunication market.

For Mr. Imad Sabouni, who highlighted the need for Arab countries to play an active role in the preparations for WTDC-10 and made reference to the Arab States’ support to ITU during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process and follow up.

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