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Statement for General Debate by the International Telecommunication Union, Fourth United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States
St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda 29 May 2024

Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of Papua New Guinea.

On behalf of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), it is an honour to address you at this Fourth United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States.

We believe that digital plays a crucial role in addressing the unique challenges and vulnerabilities faced by SIDS and has the potential to accelerate the pace of SIDS to achieve the 2030 development agenda. Since the last SIDS conference held in 2014 in Samoa, ITU has implemented a plethora of projects in a number of critical areas.

In delivering support to Small Island Developing States, we are guided by our two strategic goals namely:

universal connectivity aimed at enabling and fostering universal access to affordable, high quality and secure telecommunications/ICTs, and
sustainable digital development aimed at fostering equitable and inclusive use of telecommunications/ICTs to empower people and societies for sustainable development.

There has been considerable progress in ICT development since the adoption of the Samoa Pathway. For instance, the share of people in SIDS using the Internet has risen two-fold, from 33 to 67 percent. In the area of bridging the digital gender gap, SIDS have emerged as global frontrunners and have nearly achieved digital gender parity.

Yet, disparities exist within and among small island states. While 84% of urban citizens enjoy connectivity, only 44% of rural citizens are connected. Furthermore, only 63% of citizens are subscribed to mobile broadband and only 10% to fixed broadband. Numerous studies have found a positive impact of broadband on economic growth. For example, 10 per cent increase in fixed broadband penetration has been found to increase economic growth by 1.47% on average. Also, an increase of 10 per cent in unique subscribers’ mobile broadband penetration appears to yield an increase in 2.11% in GDP.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

ITU’s role is to support governments in creating an enabling environment for innovation and investment in digital connectivity and solutions, assist in developing and coordinating global technical standards, provide digital skills, and promote safe and secure digital infrastructure and services.

Recognizing that climate change and natural disasters disproportionately affect SIDS, a core part of our work includes the development and deployment of Early Warning Systems, the integration of digital technologies into disaster management, and the use of satellite technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The complex challenges facing SIDS require coordinated efforts and pooling of resources across stakeholders and across borders.

In 2022, ITU together with OHRLLS launched the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition (P2C) which has attracted 50 US dollars’ worth of connectivity pledges for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS. Fifteen percent of the pledges worth over 25 billion US dollars, are to be implemented in SIDS. To operationalize these pledges, we have organized 30 Matchmaking Roundtables across the globe which generated concrete projects, some of which are already being implemented. We call upon the private sector and all stakeholders to collaborate with us to connect SIDS in a meaningful and affordable way to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

Ahead lies an excellent opportunity for the development of SIDS through digital. Let us grasp it, together. We are committed to put digital at the center of the implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS.

I thank you.

Committed to connecting the world

BDT Director's Corner: Speeches

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