ASEAN commit to promote ICT-driven economic transformation

The 13th ASEAN Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers Meeting closed in Singapore on Nov. 15 after two working days with the adoption of the Singapore Declaration.
The 13th ASEAN Telecommunications and Information TechnologyMinisters Meeting (TELMIN 13) closed in Singapore on Nov. 15 after twoworking days with the adoption of the Singapore Declaration.

At the media conference held immediately after the closingceremony, Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications andInformation of Singapore, said that one of the two key highlights ofTELMIN 13 is the Singapore Declaration.

“It is astatement of intent for TELMIN to continue the strong implementation ofthe AIM2015, to focus our efforts on common issues of interests, and tostart the development of a post-2015 ICT vision for ASEAN. It is ourhope that the Declaration will help provide a strong base of ICTcooperation in ASE AN,” the Singaporean minister said.

The Singapore Declaration, entitled “Connecting Communities,Co-creating Possibilities”, reiterates ASEAN’s commitments to promoteICT-driven economic transformation through people engagement,empowerment and innovation that are built on infrastructure development,human capital development, and bridging the Digital Divide efforts. Itmaps out the priority actions in the implementation of the AIM 2015,acknowledging that ICT is an enabler for ASEAN economic and socialdevelopment and integration.

According to theSingaporean Minister, TELMIN 13 completed the Mid-Term Review of theASEAN ICT Masterplan 2015 or AIM2015. The AIM2015 is a key guidingdocument to enhance regional ICT cooperation and to make ICT a keyengine of growth and enabler of regional economic integration.

Since the launch of the AIM2015 in January 2011, as many as 60projects were undertaken by ASEAN TELMIN. These projects range fromcapacity building and training workshops to development of regionalframeworks for cooperation and coordination in areas such as electronicgovernment, cyber security and policy and regulations.
In the framework of TELMIN 13, the ASEAN Ministers also held separatedialogues with their counterparts from China , Japan and theRepublic of Korea as well as the leadership of the InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU).

TheSinagporean Minister for Communications and Information of Singapore, onbehalf of all the 10 ASEAN member countries, signed with the ChineseMinister of Industry and Information Technology a memorandum ofunderstanding (MOU) between ASEAN and China on cooperation ininformation and communications technology,

The MOU will focus on ASEAN and China cooperation in a wide range ofareas such as promoting industry, human resource and infrastructuredevelopment, cooperation on new technologies as well as informationexchange.

The Ministers agreed to convenethe 14th ASEAN Telecommunications and Information Technology MinistersMeeting and its meetings with dialogue and development partners inThailand in 2014.-VNA

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