The meeting will cover the following topics:
- Status, prospects, obstacles and envisaged solutions for developing the ICT sector in the ESCWA region viewed from national and regional perspectives;
- ICT financing, venture capital and entrepreneurship in the ESCWA Region;
- Human and financial resources for healthy development of the ICT sector;
- National ICT strategies and policies adopted by various governments in the ESCWA region with an assessment of their viability and of their effective implementation;
- Regulatory status of the ICT sector in ESCWA member countries;
- Export-import considerations for ICT products and GATT-related issues;
- Contributions of the ICT sector to the gross domestic product of ESCWA countries;
- Measuring the performance of the ICT sector nationally and benchmarking its performance regionally and globally;
- Sustainability of the ICT sector in the ESCWA region: Policies, strategies and monitoring tools.
Enquiries and requests for additional information should be addressed to:
Mansour Farah (farah14@un.org), Team Leader on ICT Policies, ICT Division, UN-ESCWA, Beirut, Lebanon. Tel: +961-1-978538, Fax: +961-1-981510.
Zahr Bou-Ghanem (bou-ghanem@un.org), Research Assistant, ICT Division, UN-ESCWA, Beirut, Lebanon. Tel: +961-1-978544, Fax: +961-1-981510