Information and Communications Technologies are now universally recognised as the most valuable and the potent instruments available for the promotion of development in the economic, as well as in the social and political fields. This fact is reflected in the large number of initiatives taken by many governments and NGOs at the local, regional and global levels.

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm), which Malta hosted late last year, are just two shining examples, manifesting the importance of the development of knowledge-based economies and societies.

Let us therefore hope that the WSIS implementation plan and the Commonwealth Action Programme for the Digital Divide (CAPDD) adopted by the heads of government, as the Commonwealth ICT Roadmap, will effectively and meaningfully serve to address emerging development issues in the 21st Century.

Malta was one of the first small states to recognise the contribution which ICTs could give to economic and social development.

It was, however, in the early part of the 90s that Malta, with the closest cooperation of the ITU, became one of the first countries to fully digitalise its telecommunications infrastructure in preparation for the introduction of up-to-date information technology. This was largely due to the foresight of my government, which recognised the need to invest heavily in renewing its ICT infrastructure. With such an achievement Malta was singled out as a “role model” for telecommunications development at the first ITU World Telecommunications Development Conference held in Buenos Aires, in 1994, and was given the honour to host the second World Telecommunications Development Conference in Malta in 1998.

The process of integrating ICTs in government activities initially focused on the improvement of efficiency in revenue areas. New ICT developments in the 90s paved the way for better and more powerful information system strategies. Having experienced the benefits of the use of ICTs, in both the public and the private sectors in 1995, the government joined forces with the Commonwealth Secretariat to establish the Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development (Comnet-IT) with the objective of helping to promote best practices in the less developed countries of the Commonwealth. Other Commonwealth governments, particularly Malaysia, Jamaica, South Africa and India, joined in the activities of Comnet-IT.

In its brief life of just over a decade, and working with limited resources in Malta, Comnet-IT, with the cooperation of the UN Development Programme, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the GTZ (the donor Agency of the Government of Germany) and the EU, has organised a myriad of activities.

The opportunity to continue to promote the role of ICTs in development arose in 1999, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which was held in Durban South Africa, when the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki invited the Prime Minister of Malta and the heads of government of eight other Commonwealth Countries to join South Africa to sit on a High Level Review Group to devise the role of the Commonwealth in the 21st century with a focus on ICT for Development.

The group gave birth to the Commonwealth Action Programme for the Digital Divide (CAPDD). It was therefore logical that the government, when invited to host the meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government last year, chose the topic “Networking the Commonwealth for Development” as the Chogm’s theme which was intended to highlight the contribution which modern electronic networking can play in social, political and cultural aspects of development.

The declaration, adopted at the end of the meeting of the heads of government recognised “the ability of ICTs to act as catalysts in creating new economic synergies, offering opportunities to overcome the constraints of remoteness, small size, and other factors which have traditionally acted as a break on development” (and complimented our efforts to propel the CAPDD on the World ICT landscape).

The Doha conference held last week, which I attended, proposed the adoption of a comprehensive action plan which will assist member states in the implementation of their national development strategies. It is certainly to the credit of the ITU Development sector to have successfully mobilised the six regional preparatory meetings to agree to strengthen the WSIS plan of action, in harmony with the already-established directions, thereby avoiding duplication of efforts and ensuring maximisation of resources.

The ITU has now been identified at the highest level of governments as the leading agency to put theory into practice and it stands to us all to ensure that the ITU continues to maintain its pre-eminent role in the creation of a more just and equitable information society. As the foremost international institution in the area of telecommunications, the ITU commands a vast reservoir of know-how and experience.

The ITU has a unique capacity to facilitate a more active role of government and public-private partnerships for the creation of an environment that will lead to the reduction of the present ICT development divide. In this context and in the light of a Malta-ITU close working relationship, which has spanned 36 years, the government is pleased to renew its pledge to support the ITU in its mission.

The experience gained in the drafting and implementation of ICT strategies and policies, positions Malta as an excellent provider of examples of good practice that can be scaled to bigger developing countries that are looking at ICT as an economical and social tool to improve their standard of living. In fact, the initiatives in the telecommunications sector that the government has undertaken over the last seven years have resulted in positive results that have placed the country as a leader among the new EU member states, and an above-average even among all the 25 EU member states. It therefore gives me great satisfaction that in the last eight years it was incumbent upon my ministry to provide a pro-competitive and friendly regulatory framework with attractive incentives for investment by all stakeholders in the market, and for the development of Malta’s state-of-the-art telecommunications and IT infrastructure.

It is therefore my government’s willingness to share its knowledge on specific ICT issues/projects with other countries, particularly in programmes related to the narrowing of the digital divide, the use of ICT in Education and the availability of public services online.

From its earliest history, Malta has enjoyed an economic, political and commercial influence out of proportion to its small size. In more recent times, Malta has aggressively developed its role in banking, shipping and tourism and has demonstrated a spirit of energy and enterprise throughout its existence. Its economy is technologically advanced and stable. More importantly, it is well-positioned to facilitate growing trade links between North Africa and Europe.

Success and the ability to achieve competitiveness depend to a large extent on technological development which is moving nations from the periphery to the centre of major world markets. It is related to the will to succeed, backed by commitment, action and execution and Malta is pursuing these credentials.

Censu Galea is Competitiveness and Communications Minister