UN Deputy Secretary-General to start on new initiative
19 Jun '06
2 min read
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown will next week launch the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development, a new initiative aimed at promoting the use of such technologies for development.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will also take part in the launch, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, a UN spokesman told reporters in New York today.
The Global Alliance is the initiative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan who approved its launch back in April as part of the follow-up to last year's World Summit, which stressed that information and communication technology must be integrated into development activities if internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, are to be achieved in time.
Earlier this week, the Alliance announced the members of its Steering Committee and Strategic Council for the first year, in view of the inaugural meeting from 19-20 June, and these include luminaries from a broad range of fields, including the business world, civil society, governments and the media.
While he is in Malaysia, Mr. Malloch Brown will also hold meetings with the Malaysian Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and meet the UN country team there, the UN spokesman said. He is expected back in New York by mid-week.
In a separate development related to Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) today opened the world body's first ICT for Development Training Centre in the Asian and Pacific region, in the city of Incheon, Republic of Korea.
marketing@alchempro.com
