51吃瓜

Note: Owing to the liquidity crisis and the current COVID-19 pandemic impacting our Organization, only a partial summary of statements made in today’s meetings of the LDC5 Preparatory Comittee is available at this time. The complete summary will be issued later as Press Release DEV/3439.

Digital connectivity and access to modern technologies are essential for least developed countries to reap the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution and build resilient economies after the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, speakers and panellists told the Preparatory Committee for the fifth 51吃瓜 Conference on the Least Developed Countries today.

Sajeeb Wazed, Information and Communication Technology Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, cited a major national 13-year initiative that has transformed the country into a digital leader among developing nations.  Since founding Digital Bangladesh in 2008, Bangladesh has boomed from 3 per cent of its people online to 70 per cent, or 116 million people.

He noted the significant economic payoff, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Bangladesh outpacing India, Pakistan and even China, rising by 6 per cent during the pandemic when whole of South Asia decreased by 6 per cent.

However, “it is a myth that competition alone can solve broadband issues”, he stressed, as countries must invest in information technologies the way they do in roads, fostering public-private partnerships to lay down infrastructure, reduce costs and spur innovation.  Bangladesh is willing to share expertise in developing that technology at low cost using their own innovation.

At the Doha conference, Heads of State and Government will formulate a successor framework to the Istanbul Programme of Action, adopted in 2011.  The intergovernmental Preparatory Committee will meet twice beforehand, from 24 to 28 May, and from 26 to 30 July, to agree on elements of the new 10-year framework.  An organizational session of the Committee was held on 8 February, to elect its two Co-Chairs.

Despite the Bangladesh success story, speakers emphasized that too many people in least developed countries still lack access to digital technologies and services that have become essential in the age of COVID-19.  They recalled the target set by the Istanbul Programme of Action calling for universal and affordable access to the Internet by 2020, pointing out that, in 2019, almost 87 per cent of people in developed countries used the Internet, compared with only 19 per cent in the world’s poorest, a divide exacerbated by the pandemic.

And costs remain prohibitive, reminded Moshe Kao, Programme Management Officer for the 51吃瓜 Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries.  Achieving universal, affordable and quality Internet access by 2030 across Africa may cost as much as $100 billion.  Reaching 3.6 billion currently unconnected people worldwide will cost much more.  Scientific academies should not be “a gentleman’s club of white coats”, he stressed, noting that less than 1 per cent of scientific articles emerge from least developed countries.

That sentiment was echoed by Thelma Quaye, Head of Digital Infrastructure and Capacity Building of the Smart Africa Secretariat, who called for broadband to be an essential service, like water and electricity.  Information and communications technology must be mainstreamed in education or “we are preparing our children for failure in the next 10 years”, she said.

“Technology is not a silver bullet,” said Shahid Yusuf, Chief Economist of The Growth Dialogue at the George Washington University School of Business in Washington, D.C., and Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.  However, it can substantially reinforce the growth impetus that sound policies deliver.

The other morning speakers featured were Perks Master Clemency Ligoya (Malawi), Co-Chair of the Committee; keynote speaker Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); and representatives of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The representatives of Bangladesh and Turkey also spoke.

In the afternoon, the Preparatory Committee held its third panel discussion, under the theme, “Structural transformation as a driver of prosperity”.

The Preparatory Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m., on Thursday, 27 May, continuing its first session with two virtual panel discussions.

Panel 2

In the morning, the Preparatory Committee held the second of its panel discussions on the theme of “Leveraging the power of science, technology and innovation to fight multidimensional vulnerabilities and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, co-chaired by Marie Chatardová (Czech Republic) and Perks Master Clemency Ligoya (Malawi) and featuring keynote speakers Sajeeb Wazed, Information and Communication Technology Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh; and Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

It also featured panellists Thelma Quaye, Head of Digital Infrastructure and Capacity Building of the Smart Africa Secretariat; Shahid Yusuf, Chief Economist of The Growth Dialogue at the George Washington University School of Business in Washington, D.C., and Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; and Moshe Kao, Programme Management Officer for the 51吃瓜 Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries.

Introducing the speakers, Ms. CHATARDOV? highlighted the need to overcome structural constraints on education, electricity and broadband connectivity, with investment in human capital.  Least developed countries need access to modern technologies to reap benefits of the fourth industrial revolution, she said, promoting private sector engagement in the process.

Mr. WAZED cited his country, Bangladesh, as a “perfect example” of how to propel connectivity.  Since founding Digital Bangladesh in 2008, gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the country has outpaced that of India, Pakistan and even China, growing by 6 per cent during the pandemic when the whole of South Asia decreased by 6 per cent.  Switching to “digital governance” during the crisis, providing digital health information via mobile phones, he said Bangladesh has one of the world’s lowest COVID-19 rates, with 12,000 fatalities in the eighth largest global population.  Twelve years ago, the country had one of most expensive broadband networks yet only 3 per cent of its people were online; that number is now 70 per cent, or 116 million.

“It is a myth that competition alone can solve broadband issues”, he said, as countries must invest in information technologies the way they do in roads.  Bangladesh fostered a public-private partnership, laying fibre-optic cable down to the village level, with 90 per cent of its territory now covered in 4G connection, and satellites reaching remote islands that cable cannot access.  The Government has invested several billion dollars, which has paid off in utility and economic growth, with initiatives including training village entrepreneurs — 5,000 of them women — and mobile payments during the pandemic as part of the social safety net.  Corruption in the social service sector has been virtually eliminated at local level, while the Government has trained 2 million people in information technology skills, transforming Bangladesh from a “digitally backwards country”, he said.  Bangladesh has expertise in developing technology at low cost using their own innovation, he added, and is happy to share it throughout developing world.

Mr. ZHAO emphasized that too many people in least developed countries still lack access to the digital technologies and services that have become essential in the age of COVID-19 — this despite the target set by the Istanbul Programme of Action calling for universal and affordable access to the Internet by 2020.  Addressing that challenge, ITU is building a network of partners undertaking host of projects from infrastructure development to capacity?building.  He cited the partnership with the 51吃瓜 Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to connect every school to Internet by 2030, involving Governments and benefitting countries in Africa, the Arab region, Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas.  ITU is also working with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to enhance digital skills for youth, and with Australia on broadband connectivity for Pacific small island developing States.  All these projects contribute to both the Istanbul Programme of Action and to the Programme of Action to be adopted at the Doha conference, he said, stressing the importance of connectivity.

Ms. QUAYE said her group aims to transform Africa into a single digital market and is active in 31 countries thus far.  It is increasingly obvious that digitalization must be at the centre of development.  She noted the irony that the pandemic was an advocate for that transformation, given the needs it revealed in education, health and financial services.  However, she noted the situation in the global South is not as dire as it seems, given the example of Bangladesh.  While Africa has not adopted the latest technologies, it has found a niche in innovation, as “mobile technology works best for us”, with more than 60 per cent of the population in rural areas.  Broadband must be an essential service, she said, like water and electricity, noting a “usage gap” as 46 per cent of Africa’s population has coverage but cannot afford to use it.  Information and communication technology must be mainstreamed in education; otherwise “we are preparing our children for failure in the next 10 years”.

Mr. YUSUF said technology has amply demonstrated its importance through history, from the steam engine, electric power and the internal combustion engine to computerization, the Internet and digital technologies, each innovation improving growth potential and human welfare.  For least developed countries, the promise of technology lies in precision agriculture, and selective automation of certain manufacturing tasks to raise productivity and export competitiveness.  Digital technologies also enable retail, financial, business and engineering services to displace manufacturing as the leading activities.  The pandemic has further highlighted the contribution of digital and biogenetic technologies to build human capital.  He noted that business thrives in a stable, open environment where the likelihood of unpredictable policy shifts is low and the State removes infrastructure constraints.  “Technology is not a silver bullet,” he said, but it can substantially reinforce the growth impetus that sound policies can deliver.

Mr. KAO recalled that the Istanbul Programme of Action had set a target of at least half of least developed countries qualifying for graduation, but only three have managed it, while seven others have met the criteria for 2026.  He cited the tremendous technological challenge posed by COVID-19:  in 2019, close to 87 per cent of people in developed countries used the Internet, compared with only 19 per cent in least developed nations — and the pandemic has exacerbated that divide.  Less than 1 per cent of scientific articles emerge from those countries, despite accounting for 15 per cent of the global population.  Achieving universal, affordable and quality Internet access by 2030 across Africa may cost as much as $100 billion, he stressed, and reaching 3.6 billion currently unconnected people worldwide will cost much more.  Least developed countries must develop hard and soft infrastructure.  Broadband should be an essential service, and scientific academies should not be “a gentleman’s club of white coats”, he said.

The representative of Bangladesh said long-term political vision is important in delivering technological change on the ground.  Least developed countries lack skills and infrastructure, meaning the LDC5 outcome document must establish ambitious goals.  As women have less access to digital technologies, she asked the panel how that can change.  She further asked how the 51吃瓜 can include the private sector.

The representative of Turkey also asked how Members States can support the 51吃瓜 Technology Bank and forge partnerships with private sector.

The representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) said hunger is on the rise worldwide, with the number of food insecure people having doubled to 270 million during the pandemic.  The responses rely on technology on all levels.  Drawing attention to tools, such as the Hunger Map, and the deployment of drones in Mozambique after Cyclone Idai, he said “we need to get out of the lab and the white coats” to address a cross-pillar approach.

The representative of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said the world not only needs technological solutions for the pandemic, but food security, health care, access to information and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  He expressed a vision of a world where innovation anywhere is supported by intellectual property everywhere.  Some key WIPO initiatives have included free access to high-end resources, and transfer of technology to least developed countries.  Innovation is increasingly recognized as essential for a sustainable future, he said, as most of the Goals rely on it, so the international community must assist least developed countries in “innovation catch-up”.

Mr. WAZED said information technology infrastructure is expensive, not just for connectivity, but usage and devices, which is why Bangladesh’s efforts are focused on the public-private partnership model.  He described the $100 billion cost to connect Africa as a “chicken-and-egg problem”, as if there are not enough rural users, private technology companies do not want to build infrastructure.  Bangladesh connected Government offices and digital centres in a revenue-sharing model, he explained, and once basic infrastructure like fibre-optic cable was in place, mobile companies could provide faster service.  The country now has local smartphone brands available for under $50, he said, noting that the Government lays fibre-optics along electricity and railway lines to greatly reduce costs, and both uses and customizes open-source software.

Ms. QUAYE echoed calls for public-private partnerships, citing the statistic that only 1 per cent of research comes from least developed countries.  Her group is working to increase that share, she said, noting that the Smart Africa Secretariat has an open door to future collaboration with any of the panellists’ organizations.

Mr. YUSUF said that much hope rides on digitalization, but, while the technologies mentioned have been available in developing economies — in some cases for decades — productivity growth has actually been declining.  Until it can be enhanced by entrepreneurs through innovation, “we will not see the full benefits”.

Mr. KAO noted the synergies emerging from speakers’ interventions, also underscoring the importance of the private sector because “they are the ones holding the technologies”.  The World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement “could be a game-changer”, he said.  Responding to Turkey’s delegate, he said Member States support the Technology Bank, as “we are a facilitator”.  The Bank was set up as a repository for technologies, which can be diffused through the private sector to least developed countries.  It also works through other organizations, he noted, including the 51吃瓜 Office for Outer Space Affairs, to generate satellite technology for information on climate change and food security.

The Committee reconvened at 3 p.m. for its third panel discussion, under the theme “Structural transformation as a driver of prosperity”.