Least Developed Countries “Challenges & Opportunities” 4 th Arab Private Sector Meeting

1. Least Developed Countries • “Challenges & Opportunities” • 4th Arab Private Sector Meeting • Tunis, Tunisia • Nov. 30 – Dec. 02, 2004 • Abdilghani Jama • S.T.A Secretary General

2. Presentation Overview • Least Developed Countires Introduction • Arab Digital Divide • International Decision-making & impact on Developing and LDC Countries • Policy Respond • Arab LDC “Meeting The Challenge”

4. LDC Criteria • Low Income: The thresholds is a GDP per capita of $1035 to graduate and $900 to qualified. • Week Human Resources: Life expectancy, Per capita calories intake, school enrolment, and adult literacy. • Low Level Of Economic Diversification: share of manufacturing in GDP, and share of labor force.

5. Arab LDC Six Arab LDC including: • Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, • Five Arab LDCs are in Africa • Average income per capita $ 800 per year. • Arab LDC Population is about 70 Million

6. Impact of Digital Divide • Missing Link Report Set the target of half of humankind should have an access of telephone services. • Millennium Development Goals sets another similar goals • A revolution has taken place in the industrial nations (Internet and Mobile). • LDCs have shared in these advances only to extremely limited extent. • LDCs are Again Threatened by marginalization and exclusion.

7. Arab Least Developed Countries

8. Digital Gap Snapshot

9. Mapping international ICT decision-making • There is now an enormous variety of agencies engaged in international ICT policymaking • Decisions made within these agencies have a major impact on the deployment of technologies, products and services, and the application of ICTs in society • It is very difficult for governments, companies and other organizations to keep track of these decision-making bodies • It is especially difficult for developing & LDC countries to do so

10. Louder Voices • Report to DOT Force by CTO and Panos Institute to DOT Force and UN ICT Task Force • Assesses influence of developing countries in international ICT decision-making • Recommends national and international action to improve developing country participation • Based on: • case studies of three institutions (ICANN, ITU, WTO) and six countries (Brazil, India, Nepal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia) • case studies of three issues (ccTLD dispute resolution, IP telephony, WTO telecommunications offers) • interviews with decision-making participants

11. Mapping International ICT-Decision Making: The Role of the ITU Softer International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Results of InternationalICTDecision-Making “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

12. Mapping International ICT-Decision Making: Other International Organizations Softer UNCTAD WORLD BANK UNESCO UNDP World Trade Organization (WTO) Results of InternationalICTDecision-Making WIPO Harder Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Narrow Broad

13. The Decision Map: Outcomes for Developing & LDC Countries • (lack of) linkage between ICT and development agendas/institutions • absence of these countries in formal andinformal decision-making fora • weakness of technical and policy capacity and stakeholder engagement in national policymaking • (lack of) linkage between international decisions and national implementation strategies

14. The Decision Map: Cont. • Lack of easy, affordable and timely access to information • Lack of functional participation in international fora • Ineffective use of financial resources available for participation

15. The Decision Map: National Level Lack of ICT policy awareness at all levels of government and business Lack of technical and policy capacity on ICT issues 3. Weaknesses of national and regional policy processes and institutions (including lack of broad stakeholder involvement)

16. Policy Respond • Governments in LDCs Acted decisively by enacting Policy and Regulatory framework. • Introduction of new Technologies, rapid diffusion, easy adoption and efficient use. • Other Policies such competition law, trade Policy. • Policies that aims to attract FDI, lower costs, Improved quality and more innovative services.

18. LDCs Challenges • LDCs are now focusing in building up the voice and data infrastructure and keep the costs as low as possible. • The environment for financing emerging markets including LDC for private infrastructure has become increasingly Challenging • Traditional investor demand/capability has changed significantly and for the worse. • Individual country, regulatory and project risk matters more than ever. • LDC Governments need structural assistance to readjust these changes.

19. LDCs Opportunities • An information or knowledge economy is built on telecommunications infrastructure • New untapped and underdeveloped market • New approaches to risk allocation and new risk instrument emerging. • Greater Sponsorship for risk insurance instruments (Government, IDB, MIGA) • Increased activity of small and mid market and “South - South” Investors

20. Lack of FDI Lack of HR/MD “Arab LDCs Meeting The Challenge” Lack of National Development Strategy Lack of Economic Opportunity

21. Thank you for your Attention jama@ties.itu.int