WTDC-02: A significant milestone in bridging the
digital divide
 It gives me great pleasure to welcome
you all to Turkey,the crossroads of many civilisations over past centuriesas a
geographical and cultural bridge between Asia and Europe as well as a “bridge of telecommunications” of recent times because of its historical
function. With huge investments made in recent years, Turkey has a unique
position in the region in terms of telecommunications, which is in perfect
harmony with its geographical location.
As we are all well aware, the world is in the midst of a
global information revolution driven by the convergence and proliferation of
telecommunications and information technologies shaping the information society
of the new millennium.
Information technologies play an ever-increasing role in the
social, political, and economic development of every country. While generating
wealth and prosperity, IT may also deepen economic disparities and the existing
inequalities. Many developing and least developed countries are isolated from
recent technological advances and do not have access to personal computers, the
Internet and the opportunities these technologies provide.
One of the basic objectives of ITU is to foster development
of telecommunications in developing countries and to extend the benefits of
telecommunication technologies to all the world’s inhabitants. Extension and
wider use of information technologies will close the digital divide between
those who have access to the information world and those who do not have this
access.
It is my sincere belief that the World Telecommunication
Development Conference (WTDC–02) in Istanbul, a city which links the two
continents, will be a significant milestone in the process of bridging the
digital divide, thus contributing to the world’s welfare and peace as well.
Expressing once again the great pleasure we have in hosting
you all in such a city of uniqueness for the second time after the
Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-2000) and the World Radiocommunication
Conference (WRC–2000), I trust that WTDC–02 will offer an excellent ground
not only for taking up the issues on its agenda, but also for the exchange of
views on various matters of common interest, thus achieving its foreseen
purposes.
Bülent Ecevit
Prime Minister
Republic of Turkey
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