Preparations for the World Summit for the Information Society

Thank you Secretary Jorge Mera, excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure and honor for my delegation to attend this conference of the countries of the Americas who are members of the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean and to be here in the wonderful Dominican Republic.

The United States of America believes that full Hemispheric cooperation on the WSIS is critical, and we are pleased that the Government of the Dominican Republic and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean are hosting this very important event.

This is an opportunity for our region to join in the emerging global consensus on the benefits of embracing the information revolution. The WSIS process has set into motion a global dialogue on the information society that may be without precedent. We, in the Americas, now have the opportunity to add our voice to this emerging consensus.

Ladies and gentlemen: We are meeting at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the ICT [information and communication technologies] industry, but I should also add, unprecedented opportunities -- both for those in the industry and those in the world of policy. We are slowly moving closer towards the goal of universal access -- a goal set by the Maitland Commission 20 years ago. We read of the 60 million new fixed-line subscribers, 140 million new mobile subscribers that were added around the globe in 2002 – most in developing countries. Indeed, it has been reported that worldwide telecommunications growth has been exceeding that of the general economy by approximately two and a half times.

The Connectivity Agenda for the Americas affirmed that access to information and communication technology is good for the economy as well as for our efforts to promote democratic values. The Internet has tremendous capacity to empower citizens by expanding access to information and encouraging participation in government. The WSIS must affirm the democratic principles of free flow of information and freedom of expression as key elements of the information society.

The United States believes that in preparation for the WSIS, we should focus on a set of priority issues that highlight fundamental building blocks of an information society – with the goal of creating a truly global information society. But we must be realistic and practical as to what the summit can accomplish. We should focus on those issues on which we find common ground and build upon the work that has been done in our region and in the other regional preparatory meetings. We must focus carefully and constructively because this is a summit of our senior political leaders, and not just a conference. The United States believes the World Summit on the Information Society should focus on three key priorities:

First, infrastructure development. Without an adequate infrastructure, it is impossible for our citizens to fully interact in the global information society. An adequate infrastructure makes possible the delivery of essential social services. For example, telemedicine applications are improving health care for millions of citizens in remote areas by giving doctors real-time access to critical medical information.

We also believe that infrastructure development is tied inevitably to good governance. Experience has taught us that investment funds will flow into those economies that establish administrative and commercial institutions based on sound legal principles.

Second, human capacity building. Without an educated population, any infrastructure will be a lost investment. Without the necessary education, including basic tools such as literacy and, specifically, computer literacy, our citizens will not be able to use what infrastructure is already deployed – and will not be able to access the larger world that composes the information society.

Third, network security. We must build confidence in the use of the information infrastructure. Network security practices are essential to building reliability, availability and integrity of information systems that will further the advancement of the global information infrastructure and will build human capacity.

By focusing on these priority issues and by focusing on the future, the United States believes the WSIS can make a valuable contribution to the creation of a truly global information society. We support a prominent role for the private sector and civil society at the WSIS. We should never lose sight of the fact that the private sector is the primary investor in, and innovator of, infrastructure, products and services. An environment where the private sector can invest and innovate is essential to ensuring a sustainable information society.

We believe that the priorities the United States has set for the WSIS can foster a connected, educated and healthy population, secure in its use of the tools and applications made possible by the ever-changing information society. We have much to learn from each other. While there is no single model for achieving ICT development, we can all agree that the challenges are great but that the opportunities, if we are successful, will be of historical significance to the principal focus of our attention: our citizens. We are in Bavaro to discuss how to best work together to contribute to the region's effective transition to the information society that will accelerate and enhance our economic, social, cultural, and technological development. There is no more important goal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.