His Highness the Emir to Open Connect Arab Summit 2012

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani will officially open Connect Arab 2012, an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and League of Arab States Summit aimed at connecting the unconnected in the Arab World.

The purpose of the Summit is to mobilize human, financial and technical resources to further the attainment of the internationally agreed World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) vision and goals, as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

Connect Arab 2012 will take place on March 5-7, 2012 at the Sheraton Doha, with the Emir officially opening the summit on March 6. It is designed to bring together the leaders of the Arab Region along with all the relevant stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as well as international and regional financing and development agencies to forge partnerships aimed at achieving a unified ICT vision and strategy for the region. These partnerships will also contribute to the implementation of projects that will enhance the deployment of ICT networks, applications and services within the region.

The Summit will also feature a series of roundtable discussions focusing on key issues central to achieving a connected Arab World including, Cyber security (Building Trust and Security in the Use of ICT); Access and Infrastructure (Broadband Access Networks, Digital broadcasting and Open-source Software); Digital Content (Multilingualism); ICT Innovation and human capabilities .

The three-day program is expected to serve as the platform for the announcement of a number of important connectivity commitments from the government, industry and the academic communities. These Arab-focused ICT commitments and projects will help further accelerate deployment of networks, applications and services. 

A complete schedule for Connect Arab 2012, including speakers and participating dignitaries, will be made public on the ITU’s website.