Implementation Of E-Asean To Top 7th TELSOM
By James Kon

Bandar Seri Begawan - The aspiration of implementing e-Asean will top the agenda of Asean delegates currently attending the 7th Asean Telecommunications & IT Senior Officials Meeting (TELSOM), hosted by the Sultanate. The event was held at Indera Kayangan Ballroom, The Empire Hotel & Country Club.

The official opening session of the 7th TELSOM was held yesterday morning with Awang Haji Ibrahim bin Hj Mohd Ali, Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications, receiving chairmanship of the 7th TELSOM from Vietnam, on behalf of Brunei.

Awang Haji Ibrahim in his opening address said, -'Over the last couple of years, the four Asean TELSOM working groups have been working relentlessly in their effort to develop and implement various projects in further realising the main objective of e-Asean.

"Our working groups have met to align and even taken over projects that have previously been under the purview of then e-Asean Working Group. Despite the fact that the e-Asean initiative through its working group and task force were dissolved a few years ago, the 'e-Asean spirit' or rather the vision to create an' ICT enabled and e-community for the Asean region lives on."

He added that the Asean TELSOM Working Groups continue to push for an e-Asean vision, which will be dealt by four main drivers namely the Asean Information Infrastructure (ALL), the e-Society and ICT Capacity Building, the e-Commerce and ICT Trade Facilitation and the Universal Access, Digital Divide and e-Government component.

He also pointed out that one of the major challenges posed in implementing any project or initiative is the lack of funding to fully accomplish ICT projects.

To overcome the challenge, Awang Haji Ibrahim said Asean TELSOM would have to come up with and agree on the establishment of an Asean ICT Fund, as a funding mechanism for the implementation of ICT projects.

Among the major tasks for TELSOM this year is to focus more on the concept of "getting things done" by determining priority on projects that need to be funded urgently, he added.

In concluding his speech, Awang Haji Ibrahim said, "This year, TELSOM will give us the opportunity to meet our dialogue partners once again. With the theme `Enhancing ICT Competitiveness: Capacity Building', we will be able to share and exchange our knowledge and skills particularly with our dialogue partners China, Japan, Korea and India."

The 7th TELSOM meeting was attended by senior telecommunications officials duly designated from each Asean member country.

Among the TELSOM's mandate are to identify, implement and monitor cooperation programmes and activities to meet telecommunications and IT requirements of the Asean region; to serve as a forum for exchange of information, discussion and constitution on major regional or international issues and development in telecommunications and IT of common interest to member countries; and to provide the mechanism to promote participation of the private sector, regional/international organisations and non-governmental organisations in the development and implementation of its programmes and activities.

It also aims to establish as and when necessary, working group expert groups to assist in the development and implementation of its cooperative programmes and activities; to report progress to the Asean telecommunications ministers meeting (TELM I N); and to carry out other activities mandated by the TELMIN and requested by other relevant Asean bodies.

There are four working groups under TELSOM, with each working group having its own terms of reference, work programmes and activities. The working groups are Working Group on ASEAN Information Infrastructure (WG-ALL), Working Group on e-Commerce and ICT Trade Facilitation (WG EC-ITF), Working Group on Universal ACCESS, Digital Divide and e-Government (WG UA, DD & EGov) and Working Group on e-Society & ICT Capacity Building (WG ES-ICB).

TELSOM will be followed by the 6th Asean Telecommunications and IT Ministers Meeting (6th TELMIN) to be held September 18 and 19, at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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