Wednesday, 6 October Republic of Sierra Leone WITH THE RAPID CHANGING IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENVIRONMENT AND GLOBAL ECONOMY CHARACTERIZED BY LIBERALIZATION, PRIVITIZATION AND COMPETITION IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES, SIERRA LEONE HAS FINALISED THE POLICY OF THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS SERVICE, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON MAKING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION FACILITIES SERVICES ACCESSIBLE TO THE MOST REMOTE PARTS OF OUR COUNTRY AND ENHANCE CYBERSECURITY AND IMPROVING CRITICAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION(CIIP) HAVE BECOME A WATCHWORD FOR EFFORTS BY ALL NATIONS TO ADDRESS AND MANAGE THE SECTOR. HAVE BECOME ESSENTIAL TO NATIONAL SECURITY, ECONOMIC WELL BEING AND SOCIAL COHENSION FOR ALL NATIONS. AT THE SAME TIME, THESE TECHNOLOGIES ARE GLOBALLY INTERCONNECTED, ALSO PRODUCING GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCES 4AND THEY CONTAIN VULNERABILITIES AND INTRODUCE THREATS TO THE NATIONAL SYSTEMS AND TO THE NATION. IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE SOCIETY’S BENEFITS FROM THESE ICTs, THE RISKS RESULTING FROM INTERDEPENDENCES, VULNERABILITIES AND THREAT MUST BE WELL MANAGED AND WE AS A COUNTRY HAVE SUCCEEDED IN ACHIEVING THIS GOAL. WE HAVE ALSO DRAFTED A COMPREHENSIVE ICT POLICY WHICH IS ATTRACTING CONTRIBUTION FROM ALL STAKE HOLDERS IN THE ECONOMY INCLUDING CIVIL SOCIETY. OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS SIERRA LEONE HAS EXPERIENCED THE BENEFITS OF THE POSITIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH ITU, AND ITS SECTOR BODIES. LIKE OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, SIERRA LEONE HAS REALIZED THAT CONVERGENCE OF THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME A REALITY. WE ALSO BELIEVE THE CONVERGED TECHNOLOGIES HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF REDUCING THE OBSERVED IMBALANCES BETWEEN DEVELOPING AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AS WELL AS BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS. IF PROPERLY NOT LOOKED INTO, THESE COULD INCREASE THE EXISTING INFORMATION GAP BETWEEN THE DEVELOPED AND THE DEVELOPING NATIONS. IT IS OUR DESIRE THAT THE OUTCOME OF THIS CONFERENCE SHOULD STRIVE TOWARDS NARROWING THE GAP BETWEEN THE DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. WITH THE POSITIVE ENERGY AND MOMEMTUM IN THE ITU AND ITS ORGANS,WE HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE SECRETARIATE TO FURTHER ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ICT FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL. MR CHAIRMAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE ITU HAS TODAY BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL RALLYING 157