**** MINISTER MICAH ATTENDS ICT LEADERS’ SUMMIT IN BANGKOK ON BEHALF OF PRIME MINISTER O’NEILL **** Minister for State Enterprises, Hon. Ben Micah was in Bangkok yesterday (Monday 18/11/13) to attend the Connect Asia-Pacific Leaders’ Summit on behalf of Prime Minister, Hon. Peter O’Neill and the Government of PNG. Mr Micah said the one-day Summit has brought Prime Ministers, Presidents and Ministers of the Asia-Pacific region together with key global and regional players in the ICT sector. “The Summit has provided an ideal platform for mobilising human, financial and technical resources needed to support the growth of ICT, which is widely recognised as the key engine or enabler for future economic prosperity, as well as inclusive and sustainable national development,” Mr Micah said. He said the theme of the Summit was ‘Asia-Pacific: Smartly DIGITAL (Digital Inclusive Green Innovative Transformative Affordable Living)” and was the fifth in a series of regional Summits that have been co-organised with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Previous Summits were held for Africa (2007), the CIS (2009), the Arabs (2012), and the Americas (2012).The Minister said he was particularly encouraged by the Summit’s emphasis on the utilisation of broadband to realise national and regional developmental agenda. “I share the view of this Summit that making available high quality, affordable broadband services is essential to facilitate innovation, economic growth and development, and reinforce social inclusion and cultural norms. “It is clear that those not able to cope with these developments will continue to lag behind in their national developmental goals,” Mr Micah said. The keynote address at the opening of the Summit this morning was made by the Prime Minister of Thailand, Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, after a welcome address by the Secretary-General of the ITU, Dr Hamadoun Toure and a vide message from the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon. This was followed by statements from the President of FSM, Mr Emanuel Mori, the President of Nauru, Mr Baron Waqa, and Prime Ministers John Key (New Zealand), Mr Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Pakistan), Lord Tu’ivakano (Tonga) and Mr Moana Kalosi (Vanuatu). The leaders then broke into the High-Level Panel Discussion on ‘Envisioning Asia-Pacific: 2020’ and the ‘Multi-Stakeholder Meeting and Partnership Announcements. Minister Micah is expected to make an intervention on behalf of PNG at the Ministerial Roundtable later this afternoon. At the conclusion of the Summit, the leaders will issue a Leaders’ Vision Statement and a Communiqué. The Minister has been accompanied to Bangkok by PNG High Commissioner to Malaysia, H.E. Veali Vagi and Chief Executive Officer of NICTA, Mr Charles Punaha. He will depart Bangkok tomorrow afternoon and will arrive back in Port Moresby on Thursday morning, in time for the current Budget session of Parliament.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 02:34:09 +0000