AMMAN – It was announced yesterday in Amman that Jordan has been designated as the regional headquarters for the Arab Regional Network of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF). This came at the conclusion of the network’s meetings that took place over two days, which were organized by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International (TAGI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Post and Communications and the Jordanian Information Technology Association (int@j).
Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh was elected as chairman of the Arab Regional Network of the UN ICT TF, with Karim Kawar as coordinator and Mustafa Nassereddin as treasurer.
It was also decided that the first official meeting of the network will take place in Amman next September.
A the conclusion of the meetings, a special session for the Arab Regional Network was convened, where Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh presented a number of suggestions that represent an action plan for planning policies. He emphasized that “the Arab Regional Network that we’re a part of is built on a number of ideas the most significant of which is adherence to usage of modern IT and telecommunications in order to achieve human development and reduction of poverty levels, which was previously agreed upon at the Millennium Summit in the UN.”
He stated that IT and telecommunications should not be viewed as being a different qualitative method for development means, but rather a successful tool for all developmental efforts which focuses on the importance of coordination and collaboration. He added that the UN ICT TF is neither a financing nor a marketing party, and it is not an executive body either.
The action plan focused on the following main steps:
The creation of a mechanism to limit and define IT and telecommunications projects in Jordan such that this mechanism is inclusive of all types of these projects during the last ten years and has them categorized according to the technology used.
The plan stressed the need to develop projects and concepts that could benefit Jordan.
During the meeting, a number of documents were presented that emphasized the need to enhance cooperation region-wide in the field of IT and telecommunications for developmental activities, and to guarantee the reflection of the region’s specific needs in international initiatives. In this regard, the meeting participants agreed that the UN ICT TF provides an effective and appropriate platform for the achievement of these objectives.
Participating in the meeting were numerous Arab and international bodies such as UNCTAD, UNESCO, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International (TAGI), the AMIR business program (Achievement of Market-Friendly Initiatives and Results), the European program for projects development, the Arab Knowledge and Management Society (AKMS), the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), the Information Technology Association – Jordan (intaj) and others.