SG ICT Ministerial
SG ICT Ministerial 30Mar06
4 Apr 2006 01:04:29 PACIFIC ISLANDS ICT MINISTERIAL MEETING
James Cook Hotel, Wellington New Zealand - 30 March 2006
THE PACIFIC PLAN AND THE DIGITAL STRATEGY
Mr Greg Urwin, Secretary General, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Honourable Jim Marurai, Honourable Ministers, Delegates and Distinguished Guests. I welcome you on behalf of the Forum to this meeting of Forum ICT Ministers.
2. This meeting is a significant one and may I first of all, on your behalf, express sincere appreciation to New Zealand for its generous hospitality and for the meeting arrangements it has made. I would like also to acknowledge New Zealand's strong for the Pacific Plan and for the Digital Strategy, a companion of the Plan, we shall be discussing today. New Zealand's recognition of ICT as a key tool for development and improved communications is and will be critical for our region. We also acknowledge New Zealand's efforts in organising this meeting, at short notice, to take advantage of the Global meetings of Internet experts currently taking place in Wellington.
Pacific Plan and Digital Strategy
3. As you know, the Pacific Plan was endorsed by Forum Leaders at their annual meeting last October, and is focused on the four key goals of economic growth, sustainable development, good governance and security. The Leaders at the same time approved, in principle, a Digital Strategy. They requested that Ministers of ICT meet to review the Digital Strategy and report back to the next Forum Leaders meeting in Tonga later this year.
4. I would like first to discuss briefly the Pacific Plan and the place of the Strategy within it. The Eminent Persons Group which reviewed the Forum in 2003 specifically identified the potential of ICT to contribute to the aspirations and goals of Pacific peoples. The Group also identified the major obstacles to ICT development in the Pacific Islands; poor access in rural and remote areas; limited access to the global backbone; shortages in human resources and high costs. When Forum Leaders subsequently accepted the range of recommendations the Group proposed, they requested the development of a Digital Strategy to address these issues. That strategy attempts to provide a framework within which we might speed up the applications of ICTs at the national and regional level through harmonised national and regional activity.
5. Given the sheer scale of the investments required and the complexity of the sector there are no quick and easy solutions available to us. But we can and must make a start. Time and technology are in some respects, if not all, on our side, as potential solutions are expanding at an exponential rate and costs are, in general, decreasing. If global trends are to be followed in our island region, ICTs will become a very widely employed part of the Pacific way of life; we can see it happening now, even in light of the disadvantages under which we now labour, and ultimately, there seems little reason why this should not so, with all the transforming effects we have seen elsewhere. We are, in short, on the edge of something important for our region. All the more important then, that we move forward in a coherent way. The expanding range of applications and the policy and regulatory, not to mention technical and commercial issues, raised by the convergence of ICT technologies give rise to complexities as well as opportunities, and the widespread representation at the meetings of officials over the last two days is an illustration of the range of interests legitimately involved. In that dynamic context, the importance of an orderly market, and orderly development, to users, to investors, to governments, cannot be overstressed.
Regionalism
6. When Forum Leaders called for a Pacific Plan to strengthen regional cooperation and integration, they recognised that the Pacific has moved into a new historical period which calls for new approaches to the challenges we face. And they recognised that, as change brought about by globalisation intensifies, one of those approaches needed to be the development of a deeper sense of regionalism a view which in light of our past record, the complexity of those challenges, and the resources at our disposal, seems to me impossible to deny.
7. The Pacific Plan is based on the assumption that regional approaches should, at least at this stage, only be taken if and when they add value at the national level. Regionalism is not intended to replace national policies and programs, but to support and complement them. Providing goods and services regionally means that only the management of delivery is shifted to a regional mechanism, not the policy making which underpins it. Protecting and enhancing national sovereignty is, in fact, a key goal of regionalism. This can seem counter-intuitive; we have been accustomed to think of our sovereignty as something wholly and solely defined by our national institutions. It seems to me, though, that it is a more realistic view that national governments can, in fact, enhance their sovereignty by participating in regional mechanisms to implement some of their policy decisions (such mechanisms to act, in effect, as serve providers). This devolution of service provision to regional mechanisms can allow national governments to focus on critical priorities and the direct needs of their people rather than spend scarce resources on costly, duplicated services which, in any event, they may not be able to provide sufficiently well. We need to consider how this kind of thinking might best serve the regional ICT sector.
8. In going down this track, we do need to recognize, however, that implementation of regional decisions at the national level has thus far been very patchy overall. There are a range of reasons for this, many of them legitimate and understandable in the historical circumstances. If stronger regionalism is, however, to make a positive impact on the lives of Pacific people, then we have to find better means, practically speaking, of connecting our regional good intentions with national action, of seeing it all as part of the same effort. This requires work at both regional and national levels, but I cannot stress enough that the success of the Pacific Plan depends on the political will by countries to pursue some of their key national policies and strategies more effectively through a regional approach, where, of course, such an approach seems likely to produce dividends. It follows, equally and for the ongoing good health of regional cooperation, it needs to follow that where those dividends are not apparent there is not a lot of point in going down a regional track.
Regionalism and ICTs
9. There would appear to be a number of ICT-related areas where regionalism may offer the opportunity to obtain better value for money, especially at national level. The potential of regional satellite aggregation to obtain lower prices than any individual country might expect to achieve is already being investigated. In the case of regulatory capacity, the small number of officials in many countries involved in telecommunications regulation does not permit the degree of specialisation demanded by the complex services now being offered. Sharing or cooperating in the development and application of legal, financial and engineering skills would seem to offer some promise, particularly for the smaller island states. As legislation for e-commerce is lacking in most countries, a coordinated approach to common legislation would improve trade flexibility through the adoption of common standards in areas such as small payments systems. The list goes on but the point does seem to be that we should take some initial, appropriately cautious steps now to exploit those opportunities we can identify and thereby establish how far a regional approach might usefully extend. A number of small but immediate opportunities, such as regional projects to support regulation and sharing of bulk purchasing of satellite capacity, are among ideas that have been discussed in the last two days. I would hope that you will feel able to join, where appropriate, projects such as these - share what successes are on offer and build the confidence to take bigger steps in future.
Leadership and Communications
10. I've spoken a fair bit about the interface between regional activity and its relevance to particular national circumstances. The Digital Strategy is also concerned with the way ICT addresses, fits into, the broader concerns of national communities. It is concerned with the need for communication in the context of the development of leadership and of the community itself. It places emphasis on the way in which national ICT policies, and regional ones for that matter, need to be anchored in boarder national development frameworks and implemented accordingly. It proposes possible structures at national and regional level advisory committees for Ministers, a regional Ministerial entity advised by experts, perhaps a development of this body meeting today whose task it would be to take these matters forward. The regional organizations and the donor community also would need to play a role in ensuring that ICT plans and policies are well supported and are relevant to all sections of the community. When you get right down to it, this sector is, after all, about empowerment.
Broadcasting
11. In that connection, one of the most important aspects of the communications sectors for many villagers in the Pacific is radio and television broadcasting. New technologies in satellite and Internet broadcasting offer new ways of distributing broadcasting signals. Recent developments in FM broadcasting solutions offer the ability to provide very specific, very low cost services. The possibility of servicing remote locations in local languages or of special interest groups such as women's groups taking the opportunity to own and operate community stations has now become a reality. The Digital Strategy looks to ensuring the implications of convergence of ICTs are recognised and the resulting opportunities seized.
12. Very few blessings are, however, unalloyed. An inevitable outcome of the development of the new technologies has been their abuse. Whether it be cyber crime, unsuitable material or junk mail, people with ulterior motives have taken advantage of the lack of rules that often accompanies the rapid application of new technologies. Unfortunately the global reach of ICTs make them vulnerable at the weakest points so we have a responsibility to ensure uniformly high standards in protecting our citizens, our networks and our reputation from unscrupulous operators. At least some of these problems may well be amendable to regional solutions.
Regional assistance
13. We have now entered into the early implementation phase of the Pacific Plan, under management of the Forum Secretariat and political oversight and guidance of a Pacific Plan Action Committee, chaired by the Forum Chair, this year Papua New Guinea. There are obviously a number of aspects to this complex matter of implementation, but a good deal of it is going to get down to better coordination, something we have not, over the years, always excelled at. Coordination among the member countries themselves, coordination with development partners and among the existing regional organisations. We have embarked on specific consultations with our partners to this end. And because the regional organisations are playing a key role in the implementation of the Plan, we are strengthening our cooperative abilities by developing a regional institutional framework that is appropriate for these new approaches to regionalism. That is a complex subject in itself, but one that will need to be pursued with vigour if we are to make the most effective use of valuable regional resources.
14. I hope that this kind of general coordination might be reflected in the ICT sector itself. In this connection, it is worth noting that in the matter of infrastructure development generally, a recently established task force comprising the ADB as lead agency, the World Bank, Australia and New Zealand is looking at the coordinating and harmonising infrastructure related assistance across the region. The Forum is also involved in this work. Similarly, an expanded, and perhaps reorganised CROP ICT Working Group would seem to offer a means of achieving better coordination and aggressive support for initiatives under the Digital Strategy, CROP, of course being the body charged with coordinating the work of our regional organizations.
Conclusion
15. In summary then, while there is now considerable enthusiasm for and expectations of the Pacific Plan, runs will need to be put on the board if the kind of cynicism which sometimes bedevils our efforts is not to reappear. Much will depend on political will, on good organisation and cooperation among our partners and on sheer staying power. The Plan does not, for all its range of measures, attempt to provide an all-encompassing solution to the many challenges facing Pacific people. I would suggest that it is, however, here to stay as a mechanism for shaping the region's longer-term future. The Digital Strategy is a critically important companion to it; it will necessarily underpin much of the progress we hope to make. So, without, I hope, being pretentious about it, I do hope that those who care about that future will look at the Pacific Plan and the Digital Strategy and see what they might do about bringing them to sustained and beneficial life. Our people deserve no less.
4 Apr 2006 01:04:29 PACIFIC ISLANDS ICT MINISTERIAL MEETING
James Cook Hotel, Wellington New Zealand - 30 March 2006
THE PACIFIC PLAN AND THE DIGITAL STRATEGY
Mr Greg Urwin, Secretary General, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Honourable Jim Marurai, Honourable Ministers, Delegates and Distinguished Guests. I welcome you on behalf of the Forum to this meeting of Forum ICT Ministers.
2. This meeting is a significant one and may I first of all, on your behalf, express sincere appreciation to New Zealand for its generous hospitality and for the meeting arrangements it has made. I would like also to acknowledge New Zealand's strong for the Pacific Plan and for the Digital Strategy, a companion of the Plan, we shall be discussing today. New Zealand's recognition of ICT as a key tool for development and improved communications is and will be critical for our region. We also acknowledge New Zealand's efforts in organising this meeting, at short notice, to take advantage of the Global meetings of Internet experts currently taking place in Wellington.
Pacific Plan and Digital Strategy
3. As you know, the Pacific Plan was endorsed by Forum Leaders at their annual meeting last October, and is focused on the four key goals of economic growth, sustainable development, good governance and security. The Leaders at the same time approved, in principle, a Digital Strategy. They requested that Ministers of ICT meet to review the Digital Strategy and report back to the next Forum Leaders meeting in Tonga later this year.
4. I would like first to discuss briefly the Pacific Plan and the place of the Strategy within it. The Eminent Persons Group which reviewed the Forum in 2003 specifically identified the potential of ICT to contribute to the aspirations and goals of Pacific peoples. The Group also identified the major obstacles to ICT development in the Pacific Islands; poor access in rural and remote areas; limited access to the global backbone; shortages in human resources and high costs. When Forum Leaders subsequently accepted the range of recommendations the Group proposed, they requested the development of a Digital Strategy to address these issues. That strategy attempts to provide a framework within which we might speed up the applications of ICTs at the national and regional level through harmonised national and regional activity.
5. Given the sheer scale of the investments required and the complexity of the sector there are no quick and easy solutions available to us. But we can and must make a start. Time and technology are in some respects, if not all, on our side, as potential solutions are expanding at an exponential rate and costs are, in general, decreasing. If global trends are to be followed in our island region, ICTs will become a very widely employed part of the Pacific way of life; we can see it happening now, even in light of the disadvantages under which we now labour, and ultimately, there seems little reason why this should not so, with all the transforming effects we have seen elsewhere. We are, in short, on the edge of something important for our region. All the more important then, that we move forward in a coherent way. The expanding range of applications and the policy and regulatory, not to mention technical and commercial issues, raised by the convergence of ICT technologies give rise to complexities as well as opportunities, and the widespread representation at the meetings of officials over the last two days is an illustration of the range of interests legitimately involved. In that dynamic context, the importance of an orderly market, and orderly development, to users, to investors, to governments, cannot be overstressed.
Regionalism
6. When Forum Leaders called for a Pacific Plan to strengthen regional cooperation and integration, they recognised that the Pacific has moved into a new historical period which calls for new approaches to the challenges we face. And they recognised that, as change brought about by globalisation intensifies, one of those approaches needed to be the development of a deeper sense of regionalism a view which in light of our past record, the complexity of those challenges, and the resources at our disposal, seems to me impossible to deny.
7. The Pacific Plan is based on the assumption that regional approaches should, at least at this stage, only be taken if and when they add value at the national level. Regionalism is not intended to replace national policies and programs, but to support and complement them. Providing goods and services regionally means that only the management of delivery is shifted to a regional mechanism, not the policy making which underpins it. Protecting and enhancing national sovereignty is, in fact, a key goal of regionalism. This can seem counter-intuitive; we have been accustomed to think of our sovereignty as something wholly and solely defined by our national institutions. It seems to me, though, that it is a more realistic view that national governments can, in fact, enhance their sovereignty by participating in regional mechanisms to implement some of their policy decisions (such mechanisms to act, in effect, as serve providers). This devolution of service provision to regional mechanisms can allow national governments to focus on critical priorities and the direct needs of their people rather than spend scarce resources on costly, duplicated services which, in any event, they may not be able to provide sufficiently well. We need to consider how this kind of thinking might best serve the regional ICT sector.
8. In going down this track, we do need to recognize, however, that implementation of regional decisions at the national level has thus far been very patchy overall. There are a range of reasons for this, many of them legitimate and understandable in the historical circumstances. If stronger regionalism is, however, to make a positive impact on the lives of Pacific people, then we have to find better means, practically speaking, of connecting our regional good intentions with national action, of seeing it all as part of the same effort. This requires work at both regional and national levels, but I cannot stress enough that the success of the Pacific Plan depends on the political will by countries to pursue some of their key national policies and strategies more effectively through a regional approach, where, of course, such an approach seems likely to produce dividends. It follows, equally and for the ongoing good health of regional cooperation, it needs to follow that where those dividends are not apparent there is not a lot of point in going down a regional track.
Regionalism and ICTs
9. There would appear to be a number of ICT-related areas where regionalism may offer the opportunity to obtain better value for money, especially at national level. The potential of regional satellite aggregation to obtain lower prices than any individual country might expect to achieve is already being investigated. In the case of regulatory capacity, the small number of officials in many countries involved in telecommunications regulation does not permit the degree of specialisation demanded by the complex services now being offered. Sharing or cooperating in the development and application of legal, financial and engineering skills would seem to offer some promise, particularly for the smaller island states. As legislation for e-commerce is lacking in most countries, a coordinated approach to common legislation would improve trade flexibility through the adoption of common standards in areas such as small payments systems. The list goes on but the point does seem to be that we should take some initial, appropriately cautious steps now to exploit those opportunities we can identify and thereby establish how far a regional approach might usefully extend. A number of small but immediate opportunities, such as regional projects to support regulation and sharing of bulk purchasing of satellite capacity, are among ideas that have been discussed in the last two days. I would hope that you will feel able to join, where appropriate, projects such as these - share what successes are on offer and build the confidence to take bigger steps in future.
Leadership and Communications
10. I've spoken a fair bit about the interface between regional activity and its relevance to particular national circumstances. The Digital Strategy is also concerned with the way ICT addresses, fits into, the broader concerns of national communities. It is concerned with the need for communication in the context of the development of leadership and of the community itself. It places emphasis on the way in which national ICT policies, and regional ones for that matter, need to be anchored in boarder national development frameworks and implemented accordingly. It proposes possible structures at national and regional level advisory committees for Ministers, a regional Ministerial entity advised by experts, perhaps a development of this body meeting today whose task it would be to take these matters forward. The regional organizations and the donor community also would need to play a role in ensuring that ICT plans and policies are well supported and are relevant to all sections of the community. When you get right down to it, this sector is, after all, about empowerment.
Broadcasting
11. In that connection, one of the most important aspects of the communications sectors for many villagers in the Pacific is radio and television broadcasting. New technologies in satellite and Internet broadcasting offer new ways of distributing broadcasting signals. Recent developments in FM broadcasting solutions offer the ability to provide very specific, very low cost services. The possibility of servicing remote locations in local languages or of special interest groups such as women's groups taking the opportunity to own and operate community stations has now become a reality. The Digital Strategy looks to ensuring the implications of convergence of ICTs are recognised and the resulting opportunities seized.
12. Very few blessings are, however, unalloyed. An inevitable outcome of the development of the new technologies has been their abuse. Whether it be cyber crime, unsuitable material or junk mail, people with ulterior motives have taken advantage of the lack of rules that often accompanies the rapid application of new technologies. Unfortunately the global reach of ICTs make them vulnerable at the weakest points so we have a responsibility to ensure uniformly high standards in protecting our citizens, our networks and our reputation from unscrupulous operators. At least some of these problems may well be amendable to regional solutions.
Regional assistance
13. We have now entered into the early implementation phase of the Pacific Plan, under management of the Forum Secretariat and political oversight and guidance of a Pacific Plan Action Committee, chaired by the Forum Chair, this year Papua New Guinea. There are obviously a number of aspects to this complex matter of implementation, but a good deal of it is going to get down to better coordination, something we have not, over the years, always excelled at. Coordination among the member countries themselves, coordination with development partners and among the existing regional organisations. We have embarked on specific consultations with our partners to this end. And because the regional organisations are playing a key role in the implementation of the Plan, we are strengthening our cooperative abilities by developing a regional institutional framework that is appropriate for these new approaches to regionalism. That is a complex subject in itself, but one that will need to be pursued with vigour if we are to make the most effective use of valuable regional resources.
14. I hope that this kind of general coordination might be reflected in the ICT sector itself. In this connection, it is worth noting that in the matter of infrastructure development generally, a recently established task force comprising the ADB as lead agency, the World Bank, Australia and New Zealand is looking at the coordinating and harmonising infrastructure related assistance across the region. The Forum is also involved in this work. Similarly, an expanded, and perhaps reorganised CROP ICT Working Group would seem to offer a means of achieving better coordination and aggressive support for initiatives under the Digital Strategy, CROP, of course being the body charged with coordinating the work of our regional organizations.
Conclusion
15. In summary then, while there is now considerable enthusiasm for and expectations of the Pacific Plan, runs will need to be put on the board if the kind of cynicism which sometimes bedevils our efforts is not to reappear. Much will depend on political will, on good organisation and cooperation among our partners and on sheer staying power. The Plan does not, for all its range of measures, attempt to provide an all-encompassing solution to the many challenges facing Pacific people. I would suggest that it is, however, here to stay as a mechanism for shaping the region's longer-term future. The Digital Strategy is a critically important companion to it; it will necessarily underpin much of the progress we hope to make. So, without, I hope, being pretentious about it, I do hope that those who care about that future will look at the Pacific Plan and the Digital Strategy and see what they might do about bringing them to sustained and beneficial life. Our people deserve no less.
