Mr. President,

On behalf of the Myanmar delegation as well as on my own, I should like to extend our warmest congratulations to you on your well-deserved election as the President of this second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society. It is well known that the idea to hold such an important Summit for our present and future generations was initiated by your Government. I am fully confident that, under your able guidance, we will be able to achieve a fruitful outcome acceptable to all from this Summit.

I wish to express our deep appreciation to the Government of Tunisia for hosting this World Summit on the Information Society and the excellent arrangements it has made for this great event.

May I also thank His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations for his invaluable support, and His Excellency Ambassador Janis Karklins, President of the Preparatory Committee of the Summit and all the members of the Bureau for their dedication and hard work which have made this World Summit possible.

I should also like to thank His Excellency Mr. Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, Mr. Charles Geiger, Executive Director of the WSIS Executive Secretariat, and all their staff for the excellent performance of their respective duties.

Mr. President,

The first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society was convened in Geneva two years ago in order to identify ways and means to harness the potential of ICTs for development and to ensure that the benefits of the digital revolution in ICTs are accessible to all. The Geneva Summit has successfully put in place the foundations for the Information Society which we all aspire to.

The international community is meeting again at this second phase of the Summit during which our commitment to build a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society will be reaffirmed and our unequivocal support for the Geneva Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action will be reiterated. Moreover, we have been working together to find solutions that would extend the benefits of the ICTs to all and to establish appropriate mechanisms for the full and timely implementation of the Geneva decisions as well as the decisions to be taken further at this Summit.

Mr. President,

Because of the enormous benefits and opportunities that ICTs can offer, this Summit is regarded as an important stepping-stone in our efforts to eradicate poverty and to attain the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals. Poverty alleviation, which has long been one of the greatest challenges facing us and has so far eluded our conquest, is the highest priority of the MDGs. Poverty is the main obstacle to the development of the developing countries, especially the Least Developed Countries. Although ICTs are not a panacea for the world's long-standing problems of development, the enormous potential of ICTs for development is well known. If the existing digital divide between the Least Developed Countries and the rest of the world can be narrowed down significantly and as quickly as possible, there will be a tremendous positive impact on these countries. This Summit should, inter alia, pay special attention to the particular needs of these countries and its outcome should include concrete measures in this regard.

The Internet, started as a small collection of networks in the 1980s, has now spread to all countries of the world and Internet demographics are also changing rapidly. The technical underpinnings of the Internet have also advanced rapidly. With regard to the issue of Internet Governance, Myanmar acknowledges and recognizes that the Internet Governance is an essential part of the Information Society and would like to commend the Working Group on Internet Governance for its report. The ASEAN countries, including Myanmar, has taken a common position on this issue which is clearly stated in the statement adopted on 26 September 2005 at the Fifth ASEAN Tele-communications and IT Ministers Meeting held in Hanoi, Vietnam.

"Technology shapes the future, but ultimately it is people who shape technology, and decide to what uses it is put". This was said by the Secretary-General Kofi Anan in his video message to the fifth meeting of the UN Information and Communications Technology Task Force held in Geneva in September 2003. In order to ensure that the Information Society benefits all, the Information Society shall be premised on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. The Information Society must also be able to prevent the use of information resources and the ICTs for criminal and terrorist purposes.

Mr President,

Myanmar is fully committed to the development and the use of ICTs in the country, one of the priorities being rural connectivity. Myanmar ICT Development Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, is the highest national body for ICTs. The focal point for the Council is the e-National Task Force, chaired by the Minister for Communications, Posts and Telegraphs with high-level representatives from various ministries, departments and organizations as members. There are six working committees under the Task Force – (1) Legal Infrastructure Working Committee, (2) Information Infrastructure Working Committee, (3) IT Education Working Committee, (4) e-Application Working Committee, (5) ICT Standardisation Steering Committee and (6) Services and Investment Working Committee. The Task Force is leading the development of the national IT Development Master Plan. The IT Development Master Plan project was carried out with the cooperation of KOICA (Korea), and the project was completed in August 2005. For the security of information, the Myanmar Computer Emergency Response Team (mmCERT) has been formed in order to strengthen cybersecurity. The regional coordination drill was conducted recently to test the capabilities of national CERTs in the region. Just recently, Myanmar Info-Tech has launched Myanmar Unicode Font installer software, which enables Myanmar character set acceptable to ICTs in accord with the ISO standards and the use of languages of national races in Myanmar in the ICTs.

At the sub-regional and regional level, Myanmar has been cooperating with countries in the region in the implementation of the agreements related to the development and the use of ICTs among the countries.

Mr. President,

The success of the whole Summit will depend, in no small measure, on effective follow-up and implementation after the completion of this second phase. In line with the overall spirit of the Summit, follow-up and implementation are the responsibility of all stakeholders, working in partnership. Myanmar will continue to do its utmost to establish the Information Society in the country as well as in the region in cooperation with the countries of the region.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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