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2010/TEL41/PLEN/004

Agenda Item: 1

Opening Remarks

Purpose: Information

Submitted by: TEL Chair

/ 41stTelecommunications and Information Working Group Meeting - Plenary Session
Chinese Taipei
10-12 May 2010

Remarks at the Opening Ceremony

(May.10th, Chinese Taipei)

His excellency, Dr. Chang

Her excellency, Dr. Bonnie Peng

Distinguisheddelegates,

Good morning!

First of all, on behalf of APECTEL, I would like to take the opportunity to extend our sincere appreciation to Chinese Taipei for hosting the APECTEL41 in thebeautiful city of Taipei, for the warm hospitality that has been accorded to us since our arrival, and for the well-prepared organizationwhich has ensured efficient running of the meeting.

We learned with deep interest and appreciation from the remarks by their excellencies just now, the impressive initiatives anddevelopment of ICT in Chinese Taipei, not only in technology and market growth like mobile communications, WIMAX and e-application, but also in the fruitful efforts by Chinese Taipei to bridge the digital divide and promote the use of ICT for economic recovery and development. I’m sure that the experience here in Chinese Taipei will be of valuable reference to the work of APEC TEL, and in this regard, we look forward to the continued active contribution from Chinese Taipei to the discussionsat this meeting.

As we are aware, in recent years, the ICT sector has been experiencing dramatic changes in terms of technology and renovation, market growth and competition, in particular the rapid growth of internet and broadband connections in our member economies. Because of its wide applications and the value it is increasingly generating to the benefits of social and economic development, the ICT sector has become one of the key strategic elements for development in our respective economies.

APECTEL has been established to promote the development and cooperation in the field of ICT in the Asia-Pacific region. With our unswerving and joint efforts by our 21 member economies over the past 20 years, we take pride in what we have done and achieved so far in the fields of liberalization, exchange and cooperation in new technology and services, and infrastructure safety and security. As we look ahead, we do have a lot more to accomplish in the years to come, particularly as we realize that the ICT is playing an increasingly essential role in social and economic development, contributing actively to the advancement of thebroader APEC objectives. In this respect, I do believe the TEL’s strategy towards 2015, which we are currently pursuing energetically, is of particular relevance, importance and significance to us.

Dear colleagues，

Over the last few days, we have had very fruitful discussions on many important topics. I look forward to your continuedparticipation and contributionto make this meeting a complete success.

Thank you for you kind attention!

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