Honourable Chairman,
Heads of State and Ministers,
Secretary General of the ITU,
Secretary General Elect,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen
• On behalf of the Government of Brunei Darussalam, We congratulate Mr Wongki Min on his appointment as the Chair and we have seen excellent chairmanship during the past few days. We also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Secretary General of ITU Dr. Hamadoun Toure on his great leadership throughout his term. Our sincerest congratulations to Mr Houlin Zhou on his victorious appointment as the new Secretary General. We are indeed honoured to have had Mr Zhou presence during the recent Asia Pacific Telecommunity Ministerial Meeting held in Brunei, representing ITU.
• We would also like to extend our gratitude to the ITU and the Government of the Republic of Korea for graciously hosting this Plenipotentiary Conference 2014 in beautiful Busan. Our appreciation also goes to the people of the Republic of Korea for the warmth and hospitality extended to all the delegates at this conference.
• We are gathered here over the next few weeks, to set out an ambitious vision and framework for the telecommunication and ICT sector for the year 2020. The creation of Connect 2020 vision and framework is appropriate as ITU seeks new vision and direction to facilitate the growth and development of ICT in a globally connected world.
• In September, Brunei Darussalam hosted the Asia Pacific ICT Ministerial Meeting which commemorated the 35th Anniversary of the Asia Pacific Telecommunity. The Asia Pacific ICT Ministers adopted the Brunei Darussalam Statement on “Building Smart Digital Economy through ICT”. Focusing on six priority areas.
• The Brunei Darussalam Statement draws attention to key priority areas crucial for the development towards smart digital economy in the Asia Pacific region. These areas are:
o Conducive Policies for Sustainable Growth of ICT and Smart Digital Economy.
o Safe and Secure Society through ICT.
o Trust and Confidence in ICT.
o Sustainable ICT Ecosystem for Innovation.
o Capacity Building and Institutional Development.
o Fostering Regional Cooperation for ICT Development.
• These priority areas are indeed aligned with Connect 2020 goals of Growth, Inclusiveness, Sustainability, and Innovation and Partnership. Brunei Darussalam is committed in harnessing ICT in the priority areas set out by the Asia Pacific ICT Ministers and the Connect 2020 goals.
• Brunei Darussalam is merging our telecommunications and broadcasting authorities, policies and frameworks to foster a more conducive business environment for growth in ICT and innovation.
• In May this year, with the collaboration of ITU, Brunei Darussalam formulated a National Broadband Policy document which sets out the goals for the development of broadband and broadband enabled services in the country over the next four years. We are grateful to ITU on the work done and hope to work further with ITU on other programme.
• Brunei Darussalam has also embarked on the development of a National ICT Manpower Master Plan and ICT Industry Competency Framework which is targeted to be completed in early 2015.
• With the experience gained through these initiatives, Brunei Darussalam is already addressing several of the priority areas set out by the Asia Pacific ICT Ministers and the Connect 2020.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
• Brunei Darussalam’s membership in the ITU is important to us. We believe the ITU together with its Member States will, and must, continue to play a significant role to coordinate international cooperative efforts to globally advance telecommunications and ICT development and harness its economic and social benefits for each Member State as well as the global economy.
• To conclude, I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the opportunity to address the conference. I am confident that our deliberations, discussion and decisions in the next few weeks will result in a Connect 2020 framework that will be achievable, pragmatic and inclusive, whether it be individually, regionally, or globally.
Thank you.
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