STATEMENT BY MR. PLAMEN VATCHKOV, CHAIRMAN
OF THE STATE AGENCY FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND
COMMUNICATIONS
REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA
Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary General,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the outset I would like to
congratulate you Mr. President and the members of the Bureau
for your responsible leadership, along with thanking all
those who contributed to the substantial preparation and
outcome of this unique Summit.
My delegation commends the excellent
conditions provided to us by the Government and people of
Tunisia. I would like to extend to them our warmest
gratitude for their hospitality.
Mr. President,
It is an honor and pleasure for me to
address on behalf of the Bulgarian Government this high
level Second Phase of the UN Summit on Information Society,
which plays a central role in defining a framework for the
development of the Global Information Society in the 21st
century. Bulgaria has aligned itself with the assessment on
this Summit’s outcome made yesterday by the UK Presidency of
the European Union.
Mr. President,
The beginning of the new Millennium has
seen an unprecedented transition from industrial to
information society with the three sectors of
telecommunications, information technologies and media
functioning in ever closer synergy. This has enabled the
development of new products and services and at the same
time has had an enormous impact on key aspects of social
life, such as education, health, media, pubic services and
commerce. Information and communication technologies are
rapidly changing life of modern society and communities.
They are a fundamental factor of globalization and a driving
force for economic growth and prosperity. They can serve as
indispensable tool for speeding up the implementation of the
UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
It is a regrettable fact that the
majority of the world’s population still has limited or no
access to modern information and communication technologies
and is deprived of the benefits of the Information Society.
Although during the 90-ies the developing countries have
made significant progress in building their information
infrastructure, this cannot compensate for the existing
"digital gap" between developed and developing countries.
While the existing gap in fixed and mobile communications
has narrowed, the digital divide in the construction of
broadband networks and providing electronic services to
citizens and businesses has grown wider both between the
different countries and between the urban and the rural
areas. Specific and dedicated efforts still need to be made
by all of us for bridging the digital divide and building up
an inclusive Information Society and knowledge-based global
economy.
The Bulgarian Government has continuously
supported the implementation of the Declaration of
Principles and Plan of Action adopted at the First phase of
the World Summit on the Information Society and premised on
the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We
fully share the Tunis commitment and the Agenda that will be
adopted at this Summit. They sustain the vision of a Global
Information Society based on solidarity, cooperation and
inclusion and strengthen our confidence in a better world
for our children. We appreciate the political will of all
member countries to discuss openly and constructively
topical issues related to the Information Society and to
draw a collective strategy for the future. We believe that
the Tunis agenda can serve as basis of a "win-win" strategy
for all stakeholders in the process.
Mr. President,
Let me add a few words about the role and
the place of Bulgaria in this process. During the last two
years Bulgaria had its index of development of Information
Society growing by 19% annually, which is two times higher
as compared to previous years. This is primarily due to the
considerable improvement of the availability of new
technology and increased demand for IT skills. These factors
led to significant rise of the introduction of personal
computers in the country, especially in education and
Internet usage by citizens and business. During the past
year the percentage of Internet users reached more than 22%,
e-education grew by 23%, and mobile subscribers saw a 10%
uptake reaching about 50% of the population. In this regard
I would like to emphasize the valuable support and know-how
provided by the UNDP for the management of key projects in
the ICT sector.
Development of Information and
communication technologies is also a priority of the
Bulgarian Government. We consider the establishment of a
high-speed information infrastructure as one of the
foundations of the knowledge-based economy that fosters
economic development and improves standard of living of the
people. Some of the goals that Bulgaria has achieved in the
area of telecommunications are as follows:
- a completely liberalized
telecommunications market where 22 licensed
operators compete with the incumbent,
- 3 licensed mobile operators,
- 3 licensed UMTS operators,
- 5 licensed WiMAX operators,
- more than 40 % digitalization
of the fixed telecommunication network, and
- 18% annual sustainable growth
of the IT sector during the last 4 years.
The Bulgarian government has also put
emphasis on the introduction of ICT in education by
considerable investments in computer and communication
infrastructure in more than 3200 schools around the country
thus giving virtually all the students access to computer
and Internet.
The expectations for growth of the
Information Society in the next years are linked to the
processes of convergence of various infrastructures,
services and content, development of e-government, e-health,
education and qualification, and increasing the
competitiveness of Bulgarian business by use of new
technology.
The Information Society development
activities in Bulgaria are carried out in conformity with
the world trends, the European Community policies and the
national specific conditions. Our main challenges are
related to full implementation of the EU Electronic
Communications Regulatory Framework, the i2010 Initiative
and, more specifically, the development of network and
electronic services, adoption of ICT by businesses,
strengthening the competitiveness, inclusion and development
of public electronic services.
We look forward to the process of
enhanced cooperation among governments, private sector,
civil society and the relevant international institutions,
for effective implementation of the agenda set forth by the
Tunis Summit.
We stand ready to share our experience
with other countries and to take advantage of this exchange.
Thank you for your attention. |