by
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
Vice Chair, United Nations Information and Communication
Technologies Task Force, UN ICT TF, NY www.icttaskforce.org
Chair, ICC Commission on E-Business, Information Technologies, and
Telecoms, International Chamber of Commerce, Paris www.iccwbo.org
Chairman and CEO, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGO)
www.tagi.com
UNCTAD XI
Hearing with civil society and the private sector
23 February 2004
by
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
An overview of how ICTs contribute to enhancing productivity and business competitiveness in developing countries (from the business perspective).
- ICTs improve the competitiveness of enterprises by helping reduce transaction costs; providing opportunities to increase exports: opening up wider markets, thus promoting diversification and employment opportunities; increasing management efficiency and enhancing flexibility in production processes.
- These technologies can be of particular use by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to foster innovation, realize gains in productivity, and fight poverty.
Specific reference to the UNCTAD XI Pre-Conference Negotiating Text (TD(XI)/PC/3, 17
December 2003), in particular Sub-theme II (“Building productive capacity and
international competitiveness”), paragraphs 18, 59 and 62.
• As recognized explicitly in the UNCTAD XI Pre-Conference Negotiating Text, many countries are unable to reap the benefits of ICTs due to limited access and know-how.
• According to the text, the underlying causes for the low level of application of new technologies in developing countries include insufficient telecommunications infrastructure and Internet connectivity; expensive Internet access; absence of adequate legal and regulatory frameworks; shortage of requisite human capacity; failure to use local language and content; and a lack of entrepreneurship and business culture open to change, transparency and social equality.
• Universal acknowledgment of the fact that ICTs are expected to play a central role in the achievement of some of the Millennium Declaration Goals has produced agreement on the urgency to assist developing countries with the development and adoption of new technologies and the formulation of national e-strategies.
• The UNCTAD text reiterates the importance of creating enabling environments - including adequate ICT infrastructure, human resources, informed citizens and policy-makers, and a supportive legal and regulatory framework ---for the potential of ICT to be fulfilled.
A reference to the WSIS Geneva, its follow-up to Tunis, and the timeliness of UNCTAD Xl in between the two phases; the need for addressing developing country issues at WSIS; the need for addressing e-business issues at WSIS.
• The Plan of Action of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held in Geneva last December, highlights the implementation of national e-strategies as one of the key areas for policy action to advance the information society in developing countries.
• The second phase, in Tunis, will be held in November 2005, leaving a window of opportunity for UNCTAD, especially through its activities at UNCTAD XI, to make a significant contribution to the follow-up of the summit, including through monitoring the progress made between the two phases.
• UNCTAD is positioned to play a vital role in assisting developing countries to participate actively in international discussions that are likely to have an influence on the development of ICT and the knowledge economy and on bringing e-business as a tool for development to the fore.
The role and contribution of UNCTAD in helping developing countries to address ICT policies (at the national and international levels) and to develop e-business capacities in their countries; see paragraphs 77-80 of the UNCTAD Xl Pre-Conference Negotiating Text.
• The Negotiating Text describes specific actions UNCTAD can take to address ICT policies, both national and international, as well as to assist developing countries build e-business capacities. These include:
- - assisting developing countries in formulating and implementing national ICT policies and strategies, including developing mechanisms for monitoring and measuring digital economy developments and ICT use in their countries, as well as providing a forum for developing countries to discuss ICT-related policy issues, exchange of experience and best practices;
- - supporting the efforts of developing countries in developing e-business in sectors of economic importance and with export capacity, through a mix of sector-specific policies, training programmes and deployment of ICT tools, taking into account the need for different policy mixes to respect local and national specificities; and
-- continuing to provide a forum for developing countries to discuss ICT-related policy issues at the regional and international level.
The lCT for Development (ICT4D) partnerships that will be launched at UNCTAD XI, which are practical examples of business applications of ICT. Mentioning of the close cooperation with the UN ICT TF in planning and implementing the partnerships.
• Several partnerships in the areas of ICT for Development will be launched at UNCATD XI that showcase practical business applications of ICT. Among them, are;
- activities that enable developing countries to take full advantage of free and open source software, including supporting the development of human capacities to use, service and produce FOSS;
- an e-tourism initiative designed to give developing countries --particularly the least developed countries, small economies and island States -the technical means for promoting, marketing and selling their tourism services online through partnerships with member states, national tourism authorities, the World Tourism Organisation and UNESCO;
- activities to improve SMEs’ access to finance and e-finance, mainly for short-term working capital and trade requirements, in cooperation with member states; ITC through the “E-Trade Bridge,” and other interested international organisations; SME associations and other financial service providers; as well as the World Trade Point Federation.
- a programme to identify a set of core e-measurement and ICT indicators that could be collected by all countries, and harmonised at the international level to facilitate, among other things, measurement of the attainment of the MDGs; and to assist developing countries in building capacity to monitor ICT developments at the national level. Partners will include member states, interested IT companies, the OECD, ITU as well as DESA and the UN regional commissions and other relevant regional bodies working on e-measurement issues;
- the joining of forces with the Global ePolicy Resource Network (ePol-NET), which was launched at the WSIS in December 2003, to provide ICT policymakers in developing countries with the depth and information needed to develop effective national e-policies and e-strategies. We join existing partners such as the Government of Ireland, which is providing the Secretariat for the partnership, the Governments of Canada, France, Italy, Japan and UK; and international organizations including ECA; ITU; UNDP; and OECD.
• The overall ICT4D partnership is being prepared in very close collaboration with the United Nations Information and Communications Technology Task Force, itself an excellent example of a partnership approach to facilitate the spread of ICTs in developing countries.