Asean Telsom And Telmin To Focus On ICT As Growth Engine

From Noor Farhana Ahmad Norain NAY PYI TAW (Myanmar), Dec 5 (Bernama) -- The Asean Telecommunication and Information Technology Meeting which started today is expected to give emphasis on the broadband network as a basic infrastructure and a critical foundation for socio-economic development. Themed "ICT: Engine for Growth in Asean", the 12th Asean Telecommunication and Information Technology Senior Official Meeting (Telsom) and 11th Asean Telecommunication and Information Technology Ministers Meeting (Telmin) will be held at the Myanmar International Convention Centre (MICC) here at Myanmar's new administrative capital, until Friday. The three-day Telsom was preceded by the Asean ICT Centre Governing Council Meeting this afternoon, chaired by current Chairman of Telsom, Kamaruddin Siaraf who is also the Secretary General of Malaysia's Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture. On Tuesday morning, the Telsom session will kick off with the opening speech by Kamaruddin. There will also be dialogue sessions with representatives from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), European Union (EU), India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China before it concludes on Wednesday. On Thursday, Myanmar President, Thein Sein is expected to officially open the two-day Telmin, while Information, Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim who is also Telmin chairman, will deliver the opening remarks at the meet. The ministers will hold dialogue sessions with partners from China, Japan, Korea, India and ITU on Friday, before the meeting ends with a presentation of the Asean-ITU memorandum of understanding (MoU). Asean (Association of South East Nations) comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. --BERNAMA