Preparations For Connect Arab Summit to Begin in Doha Monday

Doha, March 04 (QNA) - Preparations for the Connect Arab Summit is to begin in Doha Monday. The Summit to be organized by the International Telecommunication Union in partnership with the Arab League and to be hosted by Qatar's Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology, ICTQatar will run for three days starting Tuesday. Connect Arab Summit is part of ITU's Connect the World series, an ambitious initiative aimed at connecting the unconnected by the year 2015. The Summit relies on a Summit preparatory process, run hand in hand by the Arab League and ITU. The overall objective of the Connect Arab Summit is to mobilize the human, financial and technical resources required to close Information and Communication Technology gaps in the region. The Summit offers a venue for leaders from the public and private sectors as well as international and regional financing and development agencies to network face-to-face and forge new partnerships. It is preceded by a preparatory process during which ICT development projects and project holders are identified, as well as partners and donors willing to contribute to the implementation of the selected projects, with a view to enhancing the deployment of ICT networks, applications and services within the region. The Summit features discussion panels and roundtables focusing on the challenges posed to emerging and transition economies in harnessing the full potential of ICTs. Bold decisions and commitments will be announced on multi-stakeholder partnerships to meet these challenges. (QNA)