DOHA: The Arab World will witness more than $300bn worth of investment in the information communication technology (ICT) sector over the next five years that will be at par with other technologically advanced countries, Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union told The Peninsula on the sidelines of the Connect Arab Summit 2012 summit yesterday.
"The $50bn of investments that have been earmarked here for the potential projects in the Arab Summit is just a tip of the iceberg. It will work as a catalyst to bring in more investment in the ICT industry in the region in future... I am sure that the region has a potential and will attract at least $300bn worth of investment in the next five years", Dr Hamadoun I Touré said.
The Secretary General added: "We are here only looking at what needs to be coming up as a public private partnership (PPP), but there is much more from the private sector alone to be invested."
Asked to outline about the major challenges the ICT sector in the Arab World is facing, he said: "The challenges are the same in nature as the rest of the world facing is to have a good legal regulatory framework which is more conducive for private investment.
The other challenge is to go from a "mobile miracle to a broadband miracle" and reduce the high level of regional disparities in terms of broadband access among countries. "And we have to overcome this contrast to make all the countries up to date."
Notably, there is a huge contrast and disparity in terms of internet accessibility in the Arab Word. There are countries such as Mauritania, Somalia and Iraq which have less than five percent accessibility while countries like Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia have more than 80 percent broadband connectivity.
And the third big challenge is the "Creation of Arab Content". The region enjoys a big common heritage, language and culture which could be used to create common content for this region. For the "new world" which is the "broadband world", merely building infrastructure alone will not help. The region also needs to develop adequate content on it.
The region has many advantages. Funding is not a problem. If the appropriate regulatory environment is created for private investors for the various projects that the region will witness a sea-change in the ICT sector. The sector has always been very resilient and strong. Dr Touré said that a sheer vision on the part of the governments will be transformed into a policy framework and everything will follow.
Asked to comment on the too much use of internet browsing by the youth in the countries which have high speed internet access for unproductive purposes, he said: "Internet is an efficient tool for rapid growth and development. So long as it is used for productive purposes it is well and good. But it should be avoided to make it as an addiction. Because too much of anything will be harmful.
Meanwhile, in a round table discussion on "Youth. Innovation. Entrepreneurship"--an event part of the Arab Summit, which concluded yesterday, it was unanimously agreed by most of the panelist participated in the discussion that the ICT sector has the potential to create more than 100 million jobs in the Arab World.
Some believed that fostering job creation through the provision of incentives to entrepreneurship, particularly in the field of ICT, or using ICTs as an underlying infrastructure. Developing locally the new value chain, with especial attention to young digitally articulate entrepreneurs.
Among the panelists were Sylvia Poll, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva (Costa Rica); Thomas Wilson, CEO and Managing Director, SAMENA Telecommunication Council; Khedija Hamouda Gharianai, Secretary General, AICTO, and Ahmed Esa, Gedaref Digital City Organization (GFCO), Sudan. Jeremy Foster, Head of Marketing, Government and Industry Relations, Ericsson, was the moderator.
© The Peninsula 2012
