According to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Public Relations told,The second ICT ministerial meeting of ECO member-states started in Azerbaijan's capital on Tuesday.

Minister of Information and Communication Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi and accompanying delegation attended the meeting and he is to deliver speech in the meeting.

Before the start of the meeting, Azari Jahromi met President Ilham Aliyev, Russian Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov and Turkey's Minister of Communications Ahmet Aslan.

ICT ministers of Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan Republic are attending the meeting and other ECO member-states have participated at the level of deputy ministers or senior directors.

The complete speech made by Iranian ICT Minister states that:

In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

Mr. Chairman

Honorable Ministers

Mr. Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of ITU

Mr. Halil Ibrahim Acka, Secretary General of ECO

Excellencies

Distinguished Delegates

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to begin by expressing my gratitude to the people and government of the host country, the Republic of Azerbaijan, for their kind hospitality and to the honorable Minister Ramin Guluzade and his team for hosting and organizing this event. I would also like to recognize and appreciate the hard work by H.E. Ambassador Halil Ibrahim Acka whose invaluable efforts have resulted in very useful and in-depth reports and analysis for this meeting.

This ministerial meeting is an excellent occasion to familiarize ourselves with indigenous capabilities, products, and services that are developed and produced in our region. It also provides us with the opportunity to join hands and plan for bilateral, multilateral, and regional cooperation for joint product design and manufacturing, joint service offerings, and joint network planning and development. We are heartened by the fact that our common market size justifies niche product development. Together, we have a population of close to 500 million and our total GDP is in excess of 5 Trillion Dollars. These are our points of strengths, which enable us to develop and implement meaningful cooperation.

Mr. Chairman,

We are entering into an era of broadband digital economy with many opportunities. I want to emphasize the importance of strengthening regional collaboration towards the broadband digital economy. We believe that the people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented broadband digital economy could greatly contribute to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals. It is in this light that we endorse the report prepared by the ECO Secretariat on Digital Economy4Digital Era: 2025 ECO Regional Strategy for Information Society Development. Specifically, We are prepared to act as the focal point for Pillar 6 General Objective, which is digital technologies as support for agricultural development; and Pillar 7 General Objective, which is a safe and secure ICT environment in ECO region. Of course, the above mentioned ECO report presents the high level concepts, and there is a need to establish a detailed framework for each Pillar. We are prepared to engage with the secretariat to develop the detailed frameworks in partnership with the interested institutions in other Member States.  

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Colleagues,

This Ministerial meeting is very valuable as we can exchange views, explore possibilities for cooperation, and discuss new and innovative ideas. I look forward to expanding collaboration with all interested parties, and I am confident that such cooperation will benefit mankind and make this world a better place for all.

I thank you for your attention.