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Statement by New York, 20 November 2001
Mr. President of the ECOSOC, Let me begin, on behalf of the Asian region, by expressing our sincere appreciation to the Secretary-General for his insightful statement today marking the launching of the United Nations ICT Task Force, an initiative conceived in the ECOSOC and endorsed by the Millennium Summit. Let me also thank Under-Secretary-General Nitin Desai and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on ICT, Jose Maria Figueres-Olsen for their valuable and informative remarks. I should also thank Mr. Sarbuland Khan, Director of the Division for ECOSOC Support and Co-ordination and his team for the coordination and preparation of excellent documents. We regard the launching of the UN ICT Task Force as an important milestone on the path to bridge the global digital divide, to foster digital opportunities and to firmly place ICT at the service of development for all. Last year, at the end of the High-level segment of ECOSOC, optimism ran high with the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration that put information and communication technologies squarely on the agenda of the United Nations. The major goal of that initiative was to increase the awareness of and harness the tremendous power and potential of ICT in the service of development. The Declaration also recognized the key role of partnerships between national governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders in rising to the challenge of this historic initiative. Significantly, the Council also adopted a groundbreaking resolution to establish the UN ICT Task Force. The Task Force is designed to create a pivotal role for the United Nations in the ICT area and to provide an interface between the information technological community and the development community. What is distinctive about the United Nations Task Force is that it is an important innovative public private partnership. It represents a first such entity created by an intergovernmental process in which members states, the private sector and other stakeholders will participate as equal partners. In this context, I am very pleased to see the balanced composition of the membership of the Task Force that involves representatives of all stakeholders. This should greatly help to effectively harness the potential of ICT for all and thus implement the goals of the Millennium Declaration. Today, more than 15 months after the high-level ECOSOC segment and despite the current global economic downturn together with the virtual collapse of numerous Dot-Com businesses, we are witnessing the fruition of this process: the launching of the United Nations ICT Task Force. To me, that clearly states that the promise still lives on and the prospects for the future role of ICT remains bright. But that is only true if we keep on course, untiringly striving to surmount the many obstacles in our path. Then our vision of ICT applications penetrating all sectors of society and benefiting all developing countries can become a tangible reality. Mr. President, Before concluding, let me briefly touch upon an important issue for my region. We must ask the question, what role can regional groups play in the overall promotion of ICT in the service of development. In Asia, which is a region of vast diversity spanning both developed and developing countries, ICT can play an enormously productive role in the promotion of development. The ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration recognized the key role of partnerships for advancing ICT in the service of development. In this vein, it seems to me that Asia’s diverse tapestry of countries and stages of development is uniquely suited for engaging in such cooperation. In this context and given Asia’s diversity, there is excellent opportunities for partnership initiatives in Asia including through tripartite arrangements and in fostering SMEs. We are convinced that by utilizing such arrangements for promoting ICT, a significant contribution can be made towards reducing economic and social inequalities among peoples, countries and regions. I should like to add that the different task force initiatives are not incompatible with each other nor should they have to run parallel to each other. For, in the last analysis, their overall purpose is the same, to foster efforts to integrate ICT in development plans, programmes and projects in all sectors of the economy and thereby jointly contributing to this unique global effort. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, let me just add that our vision and challenge for the future is to see ICT being fully harnessed in the service of development and the eradication of poverty. It would also help in empowering the world’s poor and disenfranchised to lift themselves out of poverty and deprivation. It is my firm belief that with the launching of the United Nation’s ICT Task Force, all of us should remain engaged in this process. We should not let up. And, acting together, we would be in a good position to ensure that the ICT revolution will be an inclusive one advancing the well-being and living standards of all. It would greatly help to make the world we live a far more peaceful and prosperous place. Thank You.
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