STATEMENT BY MS GILLIAN MACINTYRE
HEAD OF DELEGATION OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
17 November 2005
Mr President
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen
Trinidad and Tobago welcomes this
opportunity to share with the wider global community our
perspectives on the key issues addressed during the second
phase of WSIS.
We are convinced that if properly
harnessed, ICTs can contribute to achieving the MDGs and
significant benefits can accrue to all societies. Like many
states, aspiring to higher levels of socio-economic
development, we see the strategic use of ICT's as imperative
for both domestic development and the deepening of our
integration into the global economy.
In our view, this Tunis Phase of WSIS
provides an invaluable opportunity for the global community
to establish the parameters which will guide the growth of a
new inclusive information society; with a primary focus on
development. Thus, Trinidad and Tobago would like to take
this opportunity to publicly acknowledge the foresight of
the architects of this collaborative process.
Trinidad and Tobago wishes to emphasize
the need for special consideration of small island
developing states (SIDS) in the WSIS development agenda.
Such considerations must recognize the particular challenges
faced by SIDS due to their smaller economies; human resource
constraints; vulnerability to climate change and natural
disasters; and limited financial resources compounded by
their inability to access financing from international
development agencies, on reasonable terms.
We fully support the Digital Solidarity
Fund, which seeks to ensure that developing countries have
access to financial resources to combat the digital divide.
We therefore commend the leading role taken by the President
of Senegal in championing this Fund. In a similar vein, we
wish to emphasise the needs of the Member States of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for both financial and
technical assistance as we too actively pursue the
technology dividend.
Trinidad and Tobago is committed to
overcoming the Digital Divide. Two areas of particular
concern for us are access and affordability. With regard to
universal access, Trinidad and Tobago through its national
information and communication technology plan, referred to
as "fastforward" is focusing on rural areas,
the impoverished, disadvantaged urban communities, the
physically challenged and the full participation of women
and girls. fastforward is founded on the
principles of inclusiveness, universality and equity.
With respect to affordability, we are in
the process of liberalising our telecommunications market in
order to secure lower prices and better services. Building
on the issue of affordability, I must emphasise that ours is
a small market and the providers in that market can only
offer prices based on the international access rates they
are able to negotiate. Access to communications and the cost
of connectivity for ICT services and applications continue
to be a challenge for small states such as ours. We
therefore urge the global community to commit the
implementing the recommendations for improving existing
financial mechanisms outlined in the Tunis Agenda.
Mr President, Trinidad and Tobago fully
embraces the concepts of sovereignty, individual rights and
freedoms and the tenets of free enterprise. In our view
there cannot be domination by any one party in the
development of guidelines for Internet Governance, in the
international arena. Accordingly, we call for a spirit of
multilateralism to be infused in all future deliberations on
Internet Governance.
Further, we agree with the importance
attributed to partnerships among all stakeholders: the
public sector, business and civil society, in the
development of any Internet Governance framework.
Mr President, this second phase of WSIS
provides a useful opportunity for ensuring that tangible
benefits accrue to the global community particularly the
developing world. This can only take place if the principles
and objectives to which we have agreed, are translated into
meaningful action. Let us build on the momentum of this
Summit to maximize the strengths of all and enhance our
possibility for a brighter, unified, people-centred, global
information society.
Lastly, and by no means least, may I take
this opportunity to say "Chokran Jazilan" to the Government
and People of the Republic of Tunisia, our immediate
neighbours in the UN system, for their kind generosity and
hospitality.
Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen
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