There is no end to the challenges facing the developing world, it would seem. Added to the burden of overcoming the wealth gap, Southern countries also face the battle to surmount the technology gap. To tackle that issue the second conference on Information Technology and Telecommunications in the Arab World was held last week under the theme of "the digital divide in an integrated world". The conference started off with the usual rhetoric on the importance of bridging the technology gap between the developed and developing world and the centrality of information technology to development. "Despite the severe regional and global challenges, IT can be the growth catalyst for Arab economies," said Shafiq Gabr, chairman of Egypt's International Economic Forum, the organiser of the conference.
With consensus achieved on the importance of IT, speakers proceeded to raise issues that need to be addressed to "close" the digital gap. Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Ahmed Nazif said that Egypt needs to develop local content as well as encourage investment in this sector.
But to attract investment the "government has to create an environment of transparency and predictability", pointed out Tom Davis, chairman of the US Congress's Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy.
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, co-chairman of the UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force called upon Arabs to act quickly to bridge the divide before it becomes too wide. "The developed world is heading towards a new revolution, that of bio-informatics." Such a future, Abu-Ghazaleh said, necessitates that Arab countries make computers widely available, develop infrastructure, legislation and, most importantly, education.
Conference participants repeatedly stressed the importance of education. Jean Francois Rischard, vice-president of the World Bank in Europe, labeled education one of the pillars of the "knowledge-based economy", as he dubbed the new world economy. In such a new economy, he said, "the difference will not be between the rich and poor, but between the fast and slow, those who are plugged in and those who are isolated, those who are constantly learning and those who remain static, and those who are 100 per cent reliable and those who are not reliable."
Addressing representatives of 12 Arab countries and 24 non-Arab countries who took part in the conference, Rischard spoke bluntly about the performance of Arab economies. He said that in terms of the new economy, the Arab world has the lowest growth rates. He lamented the fact that total non-oil exports by 300 million Arabs amount to less than those by Finland with its population of five million. Arab countries, said Rischard, depend on oil, tourism and remittances for foreign currency revenue.
He said that the Arab world has potential, but needs to branch out from investing in IT infrastructure. Instead, Arab countries need to plan their efforts within the wider context of a knowledge-based economy in which there is particular stress on education and where scientific thinking and research and development are at the forefront.
Although many speakers rambled on about the significance of education, not a single education official attended the conference, one participant noted.
A highlight of this year's conference was the presentation by the Arab Business Forum on Information and Communication Technology (ABFICT). Last year's conference had recommended the creation of such a forum, and the ABFICT was launched in early 2002. The organisation was established by Arab private sector companies and is chaired by Adel Danish, chairman of Masreya Information Systems.
The forum's mission includes, among other things, encouraging partnerships and cooperation among Arab communications and information technology (CIT) companies, developing a common position on strategic CIT issues and promoting Arab CIT products within the region and internationally.
Promoting specific projects was one recommendation of the conference. As Imad El-Falouji, Palestinian minister of post an telecommunications, put it "rather than organise conferences where all we do is listen to the experiences of successful companies, we should sit down to discuss specific issues." He was optimistic about the prospects for Arab success in closing the technology gap. "Arab leaders for the first time are all enthusiastic about making this happen. We have a strong private sector and we have the people who can be a part of this new revolution." But in the long run, he said, to make all this happen, we need peace and stability, "otherwise all our aspirations will remain just wishes".
El-Falouji's words could not have rung truer for conference participants. In fact, Egypt's fourth COMDEX exhibition, which was scheduled to take place parallel to the EIEF's conference was postponed indefinitely. COMDEX organisers had announced that the postponement was due to the "current situation" in the Arab world which takes priority in the minds of Arab communities and in "solidarity" with the general feeling in Egypt and the Arab world. Since it was first held in 1998, COMDEX has been an annual event that features major vendors of IT software, hardware and systems.