Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
We may have come to the end of this Regional Development Forum, but the work goes on.
During the past three days we have shared best practices, ideas and proposals towards the implementation of the Kigali Action Plan to drive universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation in the region.
I would like to thank the Government of El Salvador, especially the Minister of Economy and the Superintendent of Telecommunications - SIGET - who made this great Forum possible. I would also like to thank Mrs. Ligia Ventura, our Chairwoman, who helped us meet the objectives set.
We had over 250 participants, drawn from 43 member states, 5 UN Agencies and 6 International Organizations attended the Forum.
It was great to see the diversity at this RDF, representatives from the telecommunications industry, operators, providers of communications networks and services, experts from the digital content industry, digital education, cybersecurity, technology manufacturers, among others, come together to discuss the digital needs of the region.
We also heard from several authorities and regulators from the region, as they shared their national digital and regulatory agendas. These resonate with the guidelines and good practices promoted by the ITU.
The key highlight of this Regional Development Forum has been the matchmaking experience to address the needs of Member States with financing from partners.
I was very pleased to see the commitment of Member States to continue improving their regulatory frameworks within the Partner2Connect Coalition especially because regulatory modernization is also one of the four Regional Initiatives for the Americas Region.
At this RDF, we achieved a lot in terms of matchmaking. Let me share a few highlights.
In El Salvador, Guatemala and Argentina the Interamerican Development Bank made a commitment based on their pledges valued at 1 billion dollars in the fields of infrastructure and connectivity and the development of a digital ecosystem to boost employment, growth and social inclusion.
16 countries from the Americas region will benefit from Telefonica's commitment related to its “Profuturo Digital Education Program” valued at 216 million USD and aiming at narrowing the digital education gap and improving the quality of education in vulnerable contexts.
ZTE made a commitment to support Bolivia and other countries in Americas in developing their 5G technology and other ICT infrastructure as part of their global commitment for the period 2023-2025 valued at 1.4 billion USD. Also, the BBVA MicroFinance Foundation made a commitment to benefit several countries in the region valued at 8 billion USD to benefit vulnerable communities.
I am very grateful for the great achievements and my colleagues in the region will continue to serve as midwives to make sure that concrete projects emerge out of this. I understand from my team that follow-up meetings have already been set-up to progress the work.
The complete list of commitments will be available in the report of the RDF.
A major conclusion from this Regional Development Forum is the pooling of financial resources to enable us to meet the connectivity goals.
In this we agreed with colleagues from the United Nations family, (and thanks to the UNICEF and UN Women who were present here), and other international organizations that are committed to bridge the digital and skills divide, such as CITEL, COMTELCA, CTU, the European Union, and multilateral banks - CAF and IDB, to enhance our cooperation in this regard. That's a big takeaway.
The Colloquium on New Technologies and Internet ITEC 2023 was this year, an integral part of the RDF agenda. This added the critical aspect of innovation for a better life.
The improvement of regulatory frameworks, regulatory innovation, the modernization of telecommunications laws, as well as the availability of spectrum, and technological innovations in terms of Internet networks, emerged as areas requiring our attention.
Ladies and gentlemen:
Everyone who took part in this RDF deserves my utmost thanks. I applaud your undivided attention during this event. I must say, the wheels are now moving, taking us to the future we all want.
The way ahead lies open.
Before I conclude, I would like to express my thanks to all the moderators and panelists for the invaluable contributions to make this RDF a remarkable success.
To everyone, thank you most sincerely for your participation, your pledges, and particularly, your commitments to operationalize the pledges and achieve tangible impact on outcomes.
To my ITU colleagues here in the region, from Brasilia, Bridgetown, Santiago and Tegucigalpa, led by the Regional Director, Bruno Ramos, and colleagues back in Geneva, thank you for your hard work.
Special thanks to the technicians, interpreters and conference staff, who have worked tirelessly to make the RDF an enormous success.
I would like to reiterate my thanks to the Government of El Salvador, the Minister of Economy and the Superintendent of Telecommunications for hosting us. My deep appreciation also goes to the great people of El Salvador for the overwhelming hospitality.
Last but not least, before we say goodbye let me share with you a video as memory of this Forum. The video will be available on the RDF website.
Let’s continue to work together to connect the world.
Please have a safe journey home! Thank you!
