Expert Group Meeting on Addressing Emerging Requirements and Challenges for Policy and Decision-Making in Digital Transformation in Developing Countries

Distinguished Participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning, and welcome to this important Expert Group Meeting. The topic, which addresses policy- and decision-making in digital transformation in Developing countries – is very timely.  Indeed, digital transformation and cooperation are becoming a top priority for the United Nations.

In his recent address at the Berlin Internet Governance Forum, the United Nations Secretary-General stressed that technological developments are unfolding at a speed with no parallel in human history. He emphasized that we have a collective responsibility to give direction to these technologies. That is the way to maximize benefits and curtail unintended consequences and malicious use.

In this context, the Secretary-General also highlighted the three divides facing the international community:

• First, the digital divide – 6 billion people are without affordable access to the Internet. And this is exacerbated by the unequal distribution of know-how and expertise;
• Second, the social divide. It is polarizing much of Internet content, risking to divide us rather than bring us together; and
• Third, the political divide. This carries a risk of a geo-political rupture – a fracture of trade, security and Internet systems.

Distinguished Participants,

With its convening power and universal legitimacy, the United Nations is the appropriate platform where all relevant actors can meet to address such global challenges.

As the Headquarter-based Secretariat Department, UN DESA has responded to the UN’s emerging priorities on digital technologies. We are enhancing our research and analytical products, such as the World Economic and Social Survey, the United Nations E-Government Survey, and others. And we support the Science, Technology and Innovation Forum, where digital technologies have been reviewed since the establishment of the STI Forum in 2016.

Moreover, the Department has further elevated its support for the Internet Governance Forum – whose secretariat service DESA has managed and overseen since 2007.  And most recently, I was able to meet some of you at the Berlin IGF. Thank you for your support.

However, more needs to be done.  Indeed, we are receiving an increasing number of requests for capacity building from developing countries, many of which relate to digital transformation. The Department is working to respond to such requests, especially in digital government where DESA has established expertise. In other instances, the Department refers such requests to other entities.

Dear Colleagues,

As you well know, digital transformation and cooperation cut across sectors and are increasingly knowledge- and skills-intensive.  These include digital economy, cyberspace – including cybersecurity, cybercrimes – and internet governance.

While UNDESA may not have expertise across all these areas, the UN system does. Some of the entities with such expertise include:

• ITU,
• UNESCO,
• UNCTAD,
• WIPO,
• UNODC,
• UNDP, and
• Office for Disarmament Affairs

This certainly presents a positive incentive to work together in a more coordinated manner.  This expert group meeting is intended to meet that expectation.  Included in your discussions will be how to strengthen the digital capacity of developing countries – in particular the capacity of countries in special situations.

In this regard, I hope that this meeting can lead to recommendations to meet the capacity building requirements of developing countries. This will be critical to integrate their actions into the broader implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Additional recommendations on how to improve communications, coordination and coherence among ongoing UN initiatives – in the field of digital economy, digital government, cybersecurity, and Internet governance – would be of great help.

Dear colleagues,

Digital technologies and the Internet have transformed information sharing, revolutionized industries, saved lives and advanced development. There is no doubt that new technologies – such as artificial intelligence, 5G and the Internet of Things – can help us achieve the SDGs and improve the lives of all.

The challenges we face today – rising inequality, uneven growth, climate change and rapid technological change – demand a collective effort and a stronger multilateral response. One that is anchored, among others, in digital transformation and cooperation.

Let us work together to answer the calls of developing countries for capacity support.

I wish you a productive meeting and I look forward to receiving your report and recommendations.

Thank you.