STATEMENT BY H. E. Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of
Communications anD information technology
aRABIC rEPUBLIC OF eGYPT
17
November 2005
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies, Heads of States and Governments, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Egyptian government and
people, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to
the UN, the ITU, as well as the Tunisian and Swiss
governments for their efforts in organizing the two phases
of the WSIS. A summit that has contributed effectively in
building the information society on the local and
international levels.
Our gathering here today, at the second
phase of the WSIS, two years after phase one, reflects our
increasing commitment to the success of the summit. In
addition, it confirms the increasing determination of the
international community to formulate a clearer and more
balanced collective vision to maximize the benefit from the
ICT revolution for the achievement of the development goals
of all societies: industrial, developing, rich, poor, large
and small.
There is no doubt that the effects of the
ICT revolution should not be confined to economic and
developmental benefits only, but should extend to
strengthening political, social and cultural ties between
nations. ICT should be employed in realizing world peace
based on justice, equality and a respect of sovereignty
within a framework that honors national identity and
preserves religious and cultural diversity. Respect for such
diversity is a fundamental component of cooperation and
integration between civilizations. This approach undoubtedly
confirms the concept of a global information society and
allows the opportunity for all nations to effectively
participate in creating and using ICT as a tool in
exercising their right to development.
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In light of its regional and
international commitments, Egypt has diligently and
persistently been involved in all preparatory stages of the
WSIS. A high-level Arab conference was held in Cairo from
May 8th to 10th , 2005 providing a
forum for an Arab, African, and international dialogue.
Egypt has also been actively involved in updating the Arab
and African Plans of Action for this phase in accordance
with new developments that took place on the regional and
international levels since the first phase of the summit.
The first phase of the WSIS resulted in
the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action. The
two documents addressed all the effective components of a
modern society and laid the foundations for the
establishment of the information society.
I would therefore like to seize the
opportunity presented by this esteemed assembly to brief you
on Egypt's position on some of the most important issues of
this phase.
Concerning Internet Governance,
I would like to join those who preceded
me in thanking the WGIG and praise the efforts of the UN
Secretary General and his special representative. These
efforts were reflected in the working group's report, in
which Egypt had the honor of participating.
Egypt sees internet governance as a
continuous dialogue. This stems from our realization that
the internet is no longer a mere means of exchanging
information or an e-content depository, but rather has
evolved in the framework of convergence between
telecommunications and media, as a tool for development
capable of affecting all aspects of life. This necessitates
the development of the mechanisms that govern the internet,
the most important of which is greater international
participation to encourage multilingualism on the net.
On the technological and administrative
levels, Egypt realizes the importance of the stability of
internet resources, and maximizing the benefits of the
technological and economic expertise that already exists in
this respect. Egypt supports the establishment of the new
internet governance forum as a mechanism for dialogue and
coordination that sets general policies for the net and
plays a coordinating role between the different
stakeholders. In order to develop and grow the net, the
forum should include all stakeholders from governments, to
civil society and private sector from developed and
developing nations.
Concerning financial mechanisms,
I am certain that you agree that this
issue has great repercussions on the information society
planning process. In seeking new funding mechanisms, Egypt
has suggested the "debt- swap" as a means for both paying
off the outstanding debts owed by many developing countries
while financing projects and programs as outlined in the
Plan of Action. A debt-swap converts debts into development
projects that benefit both creditor and debtor. Egypt has
taken active steps in this area where we created a special
fund to implement development projects using ICT, funded
through the debt swap mechanism.
Concerning Follow-up and implementation
of the WSIS,
The importance of this issue arises from
the necessity of implementing the outcomes of this summit,
in fact, it is an integral part of the process. Egypt
welcomes the ongoing international dialogue and suggestions
made by governments and different international
organizations that all aim to come up with a practical
mechanism for follow-up and implementation.
In this respect, we support the
suggestion to assign the UN organs concerned with follow- up
mechanisms, given that implementation is carried out by
relevant international organizations. We emphasize the
importance of the flexibility of such mechanism to achieve
the desired to bridge the digital divide. We also emphasize
the importance of the relevant specialized agencies that
took the lead in making this summit a success.
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Egypt had a strong presence in the first
phase of the summit in December 2003, when President Hosny
Mubarak announced the Egyptian Information Society
Initiative. In this respect I would like to stress that
Egypt has successfully implemented a number of leading
national initiatives that other countries can also benefit
from. These include the technology incubators for small and
medium enterprises, enabling women in the ICT sector, smart
schools, e-government, and cultural heritage documentation.
The Smart Village was established to serve as the basis for
a technology based businesses in Egypt and the region with
the aim of exporting services and expertise.
The establishment of an information
society requires us to abide by a number of policies and
directives, the most important of which is the deregulation
of services and the restructuring of the information and
communications sector while promulgating the necessary
legislation. The implementation of these policies in Egypt
has so far led to a surge in new communications services by
more than 20% per annum, and yet there still remains ahead
of us a need to enhance the role of civil society
organizations in protecting consumers and increasing
technology awareness while restructuring and organizing the
sector.
I would like to stress that investing in
research and development tools is the basis for innovation,
creativity and maximizing the value added to society. In
this context, it is our pleasure to present the results of
our experiences in partnering with international companies
to develop skills and invest in resources and value added
products for regional benefit.
I'm sure you share with me the opinion
that the development of an information society and the
generation of knowledge, within the framework of
comprehensive human resource development, require effort in
the implementation of policies that aim to eradicate
e-illiteracy and raise most citizens' basic information
technology skills.
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We hold our summit today in the Arab
African city of Tunis overlooking the Mediterranean Sea,
which has witnessed the interaction of many civilizations
and cultures over time.
The Mediterranean has an opportunity to
become the world's first "electronic sea", upon whose waves
bridges of cooperation on information and communications
technology can be built between north and south. Egypt is
prepared to support this cooperation, and this will be
reflected in our future activities that will work towards
enhancing north-south and south-south cooperation.
As the second and final phase of the
World Summit on the Information Society is about to
conclude, this represents to Egypt the beginning of a new
phase in the building the information society and a great
opportunity to build more bridges of cooperation with
different nations of the world. Egypt will continue with its
national, regional, and global efforts to follow up on the
implementation of the agreements made at both phases of the
summit. The Egyptian government will continue working
towards building a national information society and
connecting it to the international information society via
cooperation between all parties involved, locally,
regionally, and internationally.
I wish you all the best of luck and
success, and would once again like to thank the organizers
of the summit.
Thank you.
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