MALDIVES

STATEMENT BY H.e. MOHAMED SAEED
MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

Mr. Chairman,
Your Excellencies,
Secretary General of the ITU,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentleman.

I bring warmest greetings from the people and the Government of the Republic of Maldives. On behalf of the delegation of Maldives and on my own behalf, I would like to thank our host, the Government of Turkey and also the ITU for organising this Plenipotentiary Conference in this beautiful city of Antalya. I also thank our host for the excellent arrangements made for the participating delegations. It is indeed a great pleasure for me and our delegation to be here in Antalya. Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, Since the Conference in Marakesh, significant improvements have taken place in the telecommunication market. Most countries have developed their infrastructures and have moved closer to achieving digital unity. The markets have been more liberalised with private participation and increased contribution to the development.

The extent of changes varies from country to country according to economic, social and cultural circumstances. The state of telecommunication infrastructure development also varies among countries, but there is one thing common to all including Maldives. That is, minimising the digital divide as a fundamental goal of telecommunication development.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and gentlemen,

The Government of Maldives has in recent years devoted its attention to the development of the telecommunications and information technology sector and to the strengthening of its institutions, to make it a tool for modernization of the country and achieving accelerated development, relying on it as a source for strengthening the national income. The positive results thereof have benefited all social strata, becoming an important strategic element in the country's economic development. It has received significant investments from both within the country and abroad. The Government of Maldives adopted an accelerated development policy with regard to this vital domain, when it launched its first Telecommunications Policy in 2001. It contributed as the main driver for telecommunication development throughout the country.

This conference coincides with a crucial stage in which the second Maldives Telecommunications Policy is launched. While taking stock of the significant achievements of the first policy issued in 2001, the new policy, from 2006 to 2010, calls for equitable and affordable access to telecommunication services across the nation, increasing the transparency and accountability of the regulatory framework through independence and legal protection, and finally promoting the optimized use of telecommunication networks by creating awareness on their use for deleivery of services from the other economic and social sectors.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

The Doha Declaration adopted at the World Telecommunication Development Conference early this year, underlines positive initiatives for info-communication development. Maldives fully endorses the 6 reinforcing programmes enunciated by that Conference to narrow the digital divide. The regulatory reform, technology & infrastructure development, e-strategies, cost effective services, and most importantly human capacity building programmes are of great importance to the Maldives. Further, Maldives fully endorses the WSIS Plan of Action which are geared at bringing the peoples of the world closer through effective use of Information and Communication Technology and bridging the digital divide.

Telecommunications has drastically reduced distances and has helped to create an inter-connected global economy. The basic ingredients to realize this world wide information infrastructure, we believe, is the availability of good quality telephone services and bandwidth at affordable rates.

Mr Chairman,

Before I conclude I would like to pay a special tribute to the outgoing Secretary-General, Mr. Yoshio Utsumi for the dedication and hard work he has given to this organisation during the past 8 years in transforming ITU into what it is today. I am confident that the new Secretary-General and his team would likewise continue to work towards the betterment of the Union in shaping it to cope with the new challenges we all face today.

We are confident that the ITU will work for the benefit of those peoples, in the framework of its policy to develop standards, co-operation and values in telecommunications in the globe. We also appreciate its efforts to assist the limited-income countries with the training and preparation of specialized human resources. Our ultimate goal must be to create conditions favourable to ensure that all its Members enjoy the economic progress enjoyed at present by the developed world.

In conclusion, I am confident that this conference will constitute another crucial step forward in the life of this well-established organization, during which it would be able to adapt to the new developments of modern technologies, always remaining the guiding beacon for the countries in the world, for achieving maximum benefit from telecommunications and information services.

I pray we succeed in our endeavours.

Thank you.