Investment, Research, Development and Innovation in the Sector of ICT Sector

An expert group meeting on Investment, Research, Development and Innovation in the Sector of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) was held in Hammamet, from 7 to 8 May 2013. It was jointly organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the Union of Arab Banks, under the patronage of the Tunisian Minister of Information and Communication Technologies. The meeting was part of the Arab Forum on the ICT Sector (Hammamet, 7-10 May 2013) and was followed by the Conference on Investment and Finance of the ICT Sector in the Arab Region (9-10 May 2013). The meeting aimed to reach a common vision for developing a competitive ICT sector in the Arab region. It also sought to solicit comments on the ESCWA study titled “Competitiveness of the ICT Sector in the Arab Region: Innovation and Investment Imperatives”. The following topics were discussed: (a) competitiveness of the ICT sector and its contribution to the knowledge-based economy; (b) investment ecosystem of the ICT sector from regional and national perspectives; (c) research, development and innovation ecosystem of the ICT sector from global and regional perspectives; (d) vision for strengthening competitiveness in ICT at the national and regional levels. Participants also deliberated on the focus areas proposed in the study.