ITU's Connect Arab States Summit is the third in a series of regional events aimed at mobilizing resources to support a rapid, region-wide transition to broadband digital infrastructure and services.
By bringing together key global and regional players in the sector, the Summit will help generate human, financial and technical resources needed to support ICT growth, widely recognized as the engine of future economic prosperity and sustainable development.
The Connect Arab States Summit will be held from 28 to 30 November 2011 in Doha, Qatar. It will be hosted by Qatar's Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology, ictQATAR.
Connect Summits attract regional leaders from the public and private sectors, financial institutions and international and regional financing and development agencies. The event will offer a unique opportunity to network face-to-face and forge new partnerships. The Summit programme features high-level panels and networking sessions as well as announcements of new partnerships.
"The ITU Connect Arab States Summit is an important opportunity for Arab States to collectively work towards improving ICT development in our region and Qatar is pleased to be hosting this important event. The Arab world must leverage ICT to promote business opportunities, entrepreneurship and innovation and empower various social groups," said Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, Secretary-General, ictQATAR.
The Connect Arab States Summit will be organized in partnership with organizations from the region and around the world. Highlighting the collaborative approach of the summit, ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamdoun Touré, said, "ITU is pleased to provide a neutral platform to bring together all interested stakeholders. We need to work together to expand and fully leverage the power of broadband-enabled ICT networks and services for development throughout this region and the world."
Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau added, "While the Arab region enjoys significant mobile coverage, we are convinced that more can be done by partners to expand ICT access and use. An emphasis on developing affordable broadband Internet infrastructure and services is needed to support the ever-growing demand for business and government applications."
The Connect Arab States Summit builds on the successful Connect Africa Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2007 and the Connect CIS Summit held in Minsk, Belarus in November 2009.