Regional Development Forum for Asia and the Pacific 2023

The Regional Development Forum for Asia and the Pacific (RDF-ASP) 2023, co-hosted by ITU and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) took place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 13-15 September 2023.

Watch some highlights from RDF-ASP 2023

The RDF-ASP reported on the outcomes and implementation of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-22) held in Kigali, Rwanda in June 2022. Emphasis was given to the five Regional Initiatives for Asia and the Pacific approved by the WTDC-22. Participants discussed implementation plans, announced financial and in-kind commitments towards ongoing and future work, and exchanged experiences and good practices.

The RDF-ASP promoted the exchange of views between ITU and decision-makers of ITU Member States and ITU-D Sector Members as well as other stakeholders in the Asia and the Pacific region. It also served as a platform for assessing strategic orientations that may have an impact on ITU’s regional work plan.

RDF-ASP addressed, from a regional perspective, the results-based management approach applied for all actions carried out in the region as well as activities related to ITU Study Groups, Membership, Partnerships, and special initiatives, including Partner2Connect, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development, GovStack, Smart Villages and Smart Islands (SVSI), Digital Transformation Centres (DTC), Area Office and Innovation Centre in New Delhi, Connect2Recover, Critical Technologies and Cybersecurity, including the Digital Financial Services (DFS) Lab  Security Clinic, as well as regional contributions to the implementation of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Action Lines and United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

A special segment of the event was dedicated to the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition match-making that provided an opportunity for stakeholders to express their commitments based on their pledges addressing country needs for advancing digital development in the region and implementation of the Regional Initiatives.

A segment on Cybersecurity and the Digital Financial Services (DFS) Security Clinic shared findings and recommendations from the FIGI Security Infrastructure and Trust working group for regulators and DFS providers with regards to addressing security challenges for digital finance.

Finally, RDF-ASP also offered an opportunity to discuss ITU's role in the UN system and its contribution at regional and country level to foster digital development.

Other events:​

The RDF-ASP was held back-to-back with the following events:

• APT Symposium on Inclusive Connectivity, from 11–12 September 2023, in Bangkok, Thailand.​
  
• Regional Groups of ITU-T Study Group 3 (Tariff and accounting principles and international telecommunication/ICT economic and policy issues) and ITU-T Study Group 5 (EMF, environment, climate action, sustainable digitalization, and circular economy), from 11-12 September 2023, in Bangkok, Thailand. This included a half-day Bridging the Standardization Gap (BSG) hands-on training session on 11 September (AM) and was open to all interested parties.
  

Fellowships

With support from ITU and partners, one full fellowship per eligible country was awarded to facilitate participation from developing countries. Priority was given to fellowship applications from Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

As part of the RDF-ASP 2023, ITU Office for Asia and the Pacific launched a Regional Consultation allowing ITU Member States, Sector Members, and other stakeholders to contribute to ITU's activities at the regional level taking into account the strategic needs of the region and partner offerings/commitments during the period, 2023 – 2025.

Stakeholders (Member States and Partners) who attended the RDF-ASP Partner2Connect roundtables were invited to submit their written contributions which was used as basis for discussions.