Attorney-General and Minister for Communications Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum
Source: MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
Attorney-General and Minister for Communications Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has stressed the importance of close regional co-operation to ensure that no one in the Pacific is left behind by the digital revolution.
He was speaking at the 6th Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Forum, which opened in Nadi on Tuesday.
“In the Pacific, we share the optimism of the rest of the developing world that information and communication technology can revolutionise the lives of our people through empowering them with information and opportunity – that it can break down barriers between those at the centre and those on the margins – the divide between rich and poor, the divide between the urban and rural,” the A-G said.
But he warned that if the benefits of ICT development were not spread equally to all within a country then the digital age could in fact create even greater disparities between those with access to affordable technology and those without.
He explained that, in the Pacific, commercially unviable markets and remote populations are common problems that demand innovative solutions.
Country updates were also given by the Prime Minister of Tonga, Lord Tu’ivakano, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology from Samoa, Tuisugaletauá Ali’imalemanu Sofara Aveau, the Minister for Communications from Kiribati, Taberannang Timeon, and the Minister for Communication from Solomon Islands, Walter Folo Talu.
Full details in Wednesday’s
Fiji Sun newspaper.