Korean international ICT Ministerial gathering: information and
communication technology are critical drivers of growth
Over 50 government ministers gather in Busan to define vision of an ICT-led future
Busan, 19 October 2014 – Information and communication technology (ICT) must be recognized as the key catalyst that will enable countries worldwide to transform their economies and drive socio-economic progress, according to a meeting of over 50 government ministers from around the world.
Issued at the close of the 2014 Busan Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Ministerial Meeting, on the eve of the opening of ITU’s 19th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14), the ‘’Busan Declaration’ stresses the “fundamental goal of building an inclusive information society enabling everyone to create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, and of attaining internationally agreed development goals and objectives”.
The Declaration emphasizes the importance of digital inclusion, not just for people in developing countries yet to come online, but for marginalized and vulnerable groups such as women, children, low-income earners, indigenous peoples, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
“Even though we have successfully brought three billion people online, we still have the unacceptable situation where two thirds of people in the developing world, and over 90% of people in the world’s 48 UN-designated Least Developed Countries, are still offline,” ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré told the high-level meeting.
The Busan Declaration affirms that the strategic and innovative use of telecommunications/ICTs can help countries address existing and emerging global challenges. ICTs will also play critical role in achieving sustainable development goals, it says.
The meeting was attended by ministers from some 50 countries from across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Oceania.
Read the full text of the Declaration here.
Ministers are gathered in Busan, Korea for the 19th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, which opens its doors to over 3,000 international delegates tomorrow, 20th October, at Busan’s BEXCO exhibition and conference centre, and runs until Friday 7 November.
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About ITU
ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology. For nearly 150 years, ITU has coordinated the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoted international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, worked to improve communication infrastructure in the developing world, and established the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. From broadband networks to new-generation wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology and converging fixed-mobile phone, Internet and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world. www.itu.int
