Text of Connect Arab Summit Final Communique

Doha, March 07 (QNA) - Following is the text of the Final Communique of The Connect Arab Summit which was held in Doha from 5 to 7 March 2012: The Connect Arab Summit which was held in Doha from 5 to 7 March 2012 , under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar. It was jointly organized by the International Telecommunication Union and the Arab League. The Summit included some 540 participants from 26 countries, including 7 Heads of State or Government, 26 Ministers, 18 international and regional organizations and 99 private sector companies and other stakeholders. This Summit, the third of its kind in a series of ITU-led Connect Summits, aimed to foster mechanisms to mobilize the financial, human and technical resources needed to expand the scope of information and communication technology (ICT) networks and provides universal access to these as a means of encouraging investment in ICT projects and providing employment in order to achieve broader social and economic development. Leaders of the Arab countries and stakeholders commended the current ICT development that has been achieved as a result of all the efforts deployed in recent years to harness ICTs to increase rates of growth, reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in the region. They reaffirmed their commitment to realizing the vision of an inclusive Arab Information Society for all and leveraging the potential of ICTs to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Moreover, they committed to furthering the attainment of the Summit goals in alignment with the WSIS goals and outcomes, and agreed to intensify efforts in the coming years in order to achieve the following priorities: 1) develop telecommunication and information technology infrastructure; 2) disseminate digital culture and develop Arabic digital content; 3) build capacity in the field of telecommunications and information technology and their use; 4) promote confidence and security in the use of ICTs, including the development of appropriate legislations and regulatory frameworks that ensure the safe use of the Internet; 5) create an enabling environment at all levels; develop and widen the scope of ICT applications and digital content; 6) promote innovation in the various fields pertaining to telecommunications and information technology, including stimulating innovation, especially in the domain of applications and Arabic digital content; 7) increase the level of Arab and international cooperation among all stakeholders to further ICT development; 8) endorse and support the right of the Palestinian people to have access to telecommunications and information technology services, including the right to establish telecommunication networks in all the Palestinian territories and the right to have access to radio-frequency spectrum and its management; and urge the International telecommunication Union to implement the Union s relevant international resolutions and recommendations on Palestine. In order to realize these priorities, all stakeholders, including governments, private sector, civil society and regional and international organizations, will work together towards the achievement of the following goals by 2015: Goal 1: Access and infrastructure Establish and modernize infrastructure, achieve universal access and improve the quality of services as a long-term target, promote rapid deployment of broadband networks in urban and rural areas in all Arab countries, increase the availability and affordability of ICT services throughout the Arab region, build workforce skills to prepare for broadband-enabled economies, further promote the use of ICTs to respond to the special needs of various segments of society, including persons with disabilities, establish Internet exchange points (IXPs) in all the Arab States, Increase the connectivity among these States to help to reduce the international cost of the Internet, increase the security of telecommunications and information, avoid the use of international networks from outside the Arab region to connect the Arab States, and help in spreading Arabic digital content. Goal 2: Digital content Focus efforts to increase Arabic digital content on Internet sites by initiating national and regional programmes to develop content and promote innovation and incubators in order to encourage scientific research in processing the Arabic language, lower the cost of accessing digital content, and develop strategies to boost the consumption of digital content by Arab users so as to help in bridging the digital and ICT divide in the Arab region. Goal 3: Cybersecurity Improve regional cooperation and strengthen it through common or similar policies, strategies and legislations needed to effectively address the growing threat posed by cyberattacks and cybercrime, with a view to harmonizing policies, strategies and legislation, and also to establishing a regional legal framework on cybersecurity and cybercrime for all the Arab States. Make efforts to increase levels of protection against the risks posed by illegal use of ICTs, with specific attention to children and young people as well as the safe use of the Internet. Goal 4: Innovation Integrate ICT innovation as a key component of government policy and develop national strategy in coherence with public development goals, with clearly expressed political support; and design and coordinate an Arab regional approach to ICT innovation. This will help Arab countries to collaborate efficiently and promote regional integration in the field of research and innovation; empower Arab citizens to innovate through a new educational approach, allowing for a wider range of skills needed for innovation; and provide appropriate financing for ICT innovation, and enable the competitiveness of the products of this sector in the world markets. Projects On the occasion of the Summit, a number of projects valued at USD 46.6 billion were proposed by stakeholders with the aim of achieving these goals, including the projects for Palestine and the Arab least developed countries. It should be noted that proposals for projects will continue to be accepted after the Summit. Summit commitments During the Summit, the leaders of the Arab region reached out to all relevant stakeholders, including the telecommunication/ICT sector, development banks and financial institutions, international and regional organizations, other private sector companies and civil society, with the aim of working hand in hand to expedite efforts and mobilize resources to support these priorities and goals, and to contribute to the achievement of leaders goals and targets in line with the WSIS goals and targets and MDGs. Advantage may be taken of the existing special Arab Funds for financing telecommunication and information technology projects. Follow-up mechanism The leaders present in Doha noted the importance of following up the progress made in implementing the Summit outputs. In that regard, a follow-up mechanism will be implemented by ITU in collaboration with the Arab League and other relevant stakeholders, with the aim of identifying gaps and avoiding overlaps in the efforts to achieve the Connect Arab Summit outcomes. (QNA)