Regional Development Forum kicks off in Bahrain

Regional Development Forum and the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Arab States, today kicked off in the presence of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Chairman Dr. Mohammed Al-Amir and TRA Director-General Mohamed Hamad Bubisheit, with the participation and presence of a number of representatives of TRA, organizing agencies, policy-makers and Arab experts. Bubshait, who was elected the President of the Regional Development Forum, in his opening speech, stressed the importance of the forum that precedes the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), noting the Kingdom's commitment to the activities and work of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), underlying Bahrain's efforts, in recent years, to raise the pace of technological development in the field of information and communication technology and to develop it for its importance which is equivalent to other vital sectors. UN programs Resident Coordinator in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Peter Grohmann, in his speech, underscored the importance of hosting the forum in the Kingdom of Bahrain and stressed the forum promotes the exchange of experiences in the field of information and communication technology with an eye to supporting sustainable development in the region. ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau Director, Ibrahima Sano, conveyed ITU's gratitude to the Kingdom of Bahrain for hosting the forum and the preparatory meeting, lauding the organizational efforts. Regional Director of the ITU Arab Regional Office, Ibrahim Al-Haddad, announced the launch of the contest "Arab E-Content " backed by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA), praising the Kingdom of Bahrain's support for the initiative, explaining the contest tackles young people of 15-25 of age and related to the smart mobile phones applications, winners will be honored at the next session of the Regional Development Forum. He also announced the distribution of the "Arab Book for the Development of Telecommunications Sector", adding this important book contains a collection of ideas of Arab telecommunications bodies which is an effective tool for the development of the telecommunications sector in the region. The Regional Preparatory Meeting aims to develop a regional policy which will be discussed at the WTD Conference to develop activities for the development of the International Telecommunication Union for the coming years. The Regional Development Forum targets to shed light on a number of important issues concerning the region, as well as to enhance achievements accomplished in Bahrain by the use of information and communication technology in various sectors, It also discusses, inter alia, the information and communication technology as a model for smart sustainable development as a stimulating factor to promote health sector and education services.