Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Steering Committee and WSIS Regional Review

Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Steering Committee and WSIS Regional Review​

26 August 2019 - Bangkok, Thailand

Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta, Deputy Executive-Secretary Kaveh Zahedi, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is a pleasure to be back in Bangkok for the third session of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Steering Committee and WSIS Regional Review. I want to thank the Chair of the WSIS UN Regional Commission, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), for its role in the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines in the region in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. And I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr Minister, on your appointment  and to reaffirm ITU’s steadfast support for Thailand as the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society ramps up efforts to leverage emerging technologies to achieve the country’s digital economy targets. 

As the United Nations specialized agency for ICTs, ITU harmonizes the worldwide use of spectrum and satellite orbits, develops global standards on information and communication technologies and services, and assists developing countries for infrastructure and policy development on ICT. We are driving the development of emerging technologies ranging from artificial intelligence and blockchain to the internet of things and 5G.

In just a few weeks, for example, our Member States will head to Sharm-El-Sheik in Egypt for ITU’s World Radiocommunication Conference 2019. On the agenda are key issues such as wireless broadband communications using new technologies like 5G, intelligent transport systems and networks for monitoring and predicting climate change, and Low Earth Orbiting satellite networks and High-Altitude Platforms. At stake is the chance to transform millions of lives across the world and to help deliver on the promise of the digital economy.
That is precisely why we are all here today and why an initiative such as the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway and a mechanism like the WSIS Regional Review are so important.

To identify and address connectivity gaps, we need maps. The Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway maps developed by ITU and ESCAP are the first ever to show policy makers and investors where the missing links in terrestrial transmission are across the region. 

Building on this example, ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau was mandated by our World Telecommunication Development Conference 2017 to collect and disseminate information and analyses on the current status of broadband backbone and submarine cables. Included in this mandate, is the creation of an online Interactive Transmission Map of national backbone worldwide connectivity. With data from more than 400 operators covering over 2,700,000 kilometers globally, the current Broadband Maps are a cutting-edge ICT-data mapping platform taking stock of national backbone connectivity.

Mapping transmission networks is one of the many initiatives of ITU to help enhance ICT connectivity in Asia and the Pacific. We have been working with partners in the region in areas as diverse as spectrum management and monitoring, cybersecurity strategies, digital finance, emerging technologies, and emergency telecommunications.

The Asia-Pacific region is a land of contrasts where some of the most connected and least connected countries in the world coexist. In addition, the region faces a daunting spectrum of natural hazards fuelled by climate change. This is one of the findings of the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 launched just last week. This is also of one ITU’s priorities as ICTs offer solutions to monitor, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

I am here today to reaffirm the commitment of ITU towards the entire region, including Pacific island countries. ITU Member States approved a revised resolution at our last Plenipotentiary Conference last November that supports Small Island Developing States and Landlocked Developing Countries.

I have also come here today to reaffirm the importance of the WSIS Process. As the lead coordinator of this process, ITU ensures a strong linkage between the WSIS Process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. If you have not done so already, I encourage you to go to our website to use the WSIS-SDG Matrix. This mapping tool relates all ITU activities to the Sustainable Development Goals and the WSIS Action Lines.

The WSIS Action Lines have withstood the test of time. Regional reviews such as this are critical to our efforts to strengthen the implementation and alignment of the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs.

I look forward to your regional inputs on the implementation of the WSIS outcomes and to working with all of you in the months ahead to help everyone in the Asia-Pacific region reap the benefits of the digital economy.

Thank you.