It is a great pleasure to be here on this beautiful island of Jeju and to address
the 12th General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT). I would
like to express my thanks to the APT for the invitation and express my deepest
gratitude to Korea Communications Commission and through KCC to the
Government of Republic of Korea for hosting the event and extending such a
warm hospitality.
While our world is more interconnected than ever, there are large segments of
the global community who remain unconnected to broadband and to ICT
applications that have become so critical to the establishment of healthy
economies and prosperous people.
The changes we need to undertake cannot be incremental because we don’t
have time. We need new thinking, new approaches and bold steps. It’s time for
thinking “outside the box” and for developing new collaborative partnerships
across sectors, companies, governments, research institutions and academia.
To ensure that the information society is truly global and inclusive much needs
to be done to empower the poorest and the marginalized segments of our
societies through ICT.
I am confident that this assembly will come up with creative ways of turning
these challenges into opportunities for the APT and its membership– and of
course for the peoples of this region.
Distinguished colleagues,
I do place very high importance on implementation of the regional initiatives
adopted by the World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2010.
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In implementing the Regional initiatives one of my key priorities is to provide
focused assistance to the region’s Small Island Developing States to help them
cope with connectivity issues, natural disasters and climate change challenges.
Asia-Pacific has been hit by a series of major natural disasters these past years
and most recently by the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in
March this year and the recent very severe flooding in Bangkok and nearby
cities.
I would like to take this moment to express my solidarity with the numberless
victims and their families in Japan, Thailand and other affected countries
across the region. Let me assure you that ITU is on call for any emergency
telecommunication requirements, and remind you that we encourage and very
welcome partnerships, particularly in Asia-Pacific, in the ITU Framework for
Cooperation in Emergencies.
Another area of cooperation is the global issue of Cybersecurity. Protecting the
online world is one of today’s most pressing priorities. Let us join hands to
move the world from Cybercrime and Cyberthreats to Cyberpeace.
Capacity building also remains one of the key challenges in developing
countries. Several partners have already joined the ITU network of Centres of
Excellence and I count on your support to further strengthen this network
while making the best use of it.
Distinguished Delegates Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to emphasize the potential for synergy between ITU and APT and
our keen interest in working closely with the APT to maximize resources, avoid
duplication and to make the most of our respective strengths and capacities. It
is my true belief and my deepest conviction that a stronger APT can only make
ITU and particularly BDT stronger.
ITU values very highly the important contribution of APT to the development of
worldwide standards and harmonised use of radio frequency spectrum, which
are key elements in developing affordable communication networks.
ITU will be proposing potential areas for closer ITU-APT collaboration at the
35th Session of the APT Management Committee next week, in particular an
open consultation meeting on the World Conference on International
Telecommunications. We look forward to the APT Members’ positive
consideration thereon.
At this point, I would like to express our sincere thanks to all our partners
particularly the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital
Economy of Australia, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of
the People’s Republic of China, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and
Communications of Japan, the Korea Communications Commission of the
Republic of Korea, and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications
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Commission of Thailand for their substantial support in the implementation of
the regional initiatives and projects in the region and beyond.
On behalf of the Secretary General and the other ITU Elected Officials, I would
like to express our appreciation to APT for its contribution in preparation of
major ITU events in 2012 and beyond, and in particular, the WTSA-12 and
WCIT, the Radio Assembly and the WRC-12, the WTDC-14 and the ITU
Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) to be held in Busan here in Korea. ITU is
counting on your continuing support and we look forward to your active
participation.
I wish this General Assembly productive outcomes and great success.

Jeju Island, Republic of Korea 11/16/2011