The Summit is organized by the International Telecommunication Union in partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS), and is hosted by Qatar's Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology, ICTQatar. Connect Arab Summit is part of ITU's Connect the World series, an ambitious initiative aimed at connecting the unconnected by the year 2015. The Summit relies on a Summit preparatory process, run hand in hand by LAS and ITU.

The overall objective of the Connect Arab Summit is to mobilize the human, financial and technical resources required to close Information and Communication Technology gaps in the region. The Summit offers a venue for leaders from the public and private sectors as well as international and regional financing and development agencies to network face-to-face and forge new partnerships. It is preceded by a preparatory process during which ICT development projects and project holders are identified, as well as partners and donors willing to contribute to the implementation of the selected projects, with a view to enhance the deployment of ICT networks, applications and services within the region.

“The ITU Connect Arab Summit is an important opportunity for Arab States to collectively work towards improving ICT development in our region and Qatar is pleased to be hosting this important event. The Arab world must leverage ICT to promote business opportunities, entrepreneurship and innovation and empower various social groups,” said Dr Hessa Al-Jaber, Secretary-General, ictQATAR.

The Summit features discussion panels and roundtables focusing on the challenges posed to emerging and transition economies in harnessing the full potential of ICTs. Bold decisions and commitments will be announced on multi-stakeholder partnerships to meet these challenges.

Summit Participants

The Summit will welcome: Heads of state and government Ministers Chief Executive Officers and senior executives of leading regional and international ICT businesses Heads of regional and international development organizations Senior officials of the United Nations Senior officials of regional and international financial institutions National, regional and global media companies Prominent academics and industry analysts