Regional cooperation in ICT sector stressed

The problems in South Asian countries are identical; so they should work together to place a common agenda at the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), said Reaz Rahman, advisor to the foreign ministry.

The ICT issues will also be incorporated into the agenda of the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit, he said at the inaugural session of the Regional Consultation on WSIS as chief guest.

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Syed Marghub Murshed, chairman of Bangladesh Tele-communication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), said the country is lagging behind other regional countries in many sectors, including the ICT.

Referring to the African countries, which are preparing a common agenda for the WSIS, he said the countries in this region should also prepare a common agenda for the Tunis phase.

Two outstanding issues have become the focus of the Tunis preparatory process of the WSIS. These are Internet governance and financial mechanisms. The first phase of WSIS was held in Geneva, aiming to bridge the digital divide between the developed and developing countries.

In order to contribute to the global discussions on these issues, two major sessions focusing on Internet governance and financial mechanisms will be held today.

Dr Mizanur Rahman Shelley, chairman of the Centre for Development Research, Willie Currie of The Association for Progressive Communication, Geeta Sharma of One World South Asia and Reza Salim of Bangladesh Friendship Education Society also spoke at the meeting.