The ITU Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Houlin Zhao was on official visit in the Republic of Kazakhstan from 6 to 8 October 2014 at the invitation of the Minister of Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Asset Issekeshev to participate in the United Nations Global e-Government Forum 2014 organized by the Government of Kazakhstan in cooperation with the UNDESA.
At the opening ceremony of the eGovernment Forum 2014, Mr. Zhao delivered a greeting speech, in which he highlighted the progress achieved by the region and, not least, by the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the development of ICT. Noting the significance of the Forum, Mr. Zhao expressed thanks for the invitation to participate in the Forum and invited all the present to the forthcoming ITU global events: the Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan, Republic of Korea and the ITU Telecom in Doha, Qatar.
Mr. Zhao attended the Forum session presenting the UN winners in the development of e-Government in different nominations. The Republic of Kazakhstan took premier place among landlocked countries. The prizes were presented by Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General of UNDESA.
Mr. Zhao took part in the roundtable dedicated to e-Government related issues of regulation and infrastructure development, which was attended by ministers, deputy ministers, and country leaders. Mr. Zhao spoke of the ITU role in the promotion of new technologies and ICT applications for e-Government implementation.
Mr. Zhao gave interview to a national TV channel of Kazakhstan and to representatives of Chinese mass media.
Also, within the framework of the visit, Mr. Zhao had a meeting with Mr. Asset Issekeshev, Minister of Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Mr. Askar Zhumagaliev, Deputy Minister of Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan to discuss the cooperation between ITU and the Republic of Kazakhstan.
