WSIS 2021 official opening segment

Let me start by congratulating ITU for having successfully led the WSIS Forum 2021 in the form of many excellent virtual events. UNCTAD is proud to be a co-organizer of this Forum.

This year, this opening segment is coinciding with the annual meeting of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development. In both the WSIS Forum and the CSTD, much attention is given to the link between digital technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virus is bringing tremendous suffering, both in terms of health and economic wellbeing. It has also accentuated the importance of digital technologies for both medical and non-medical responses to the pandemic.

The further digital shift triggered by this crisis is set to have long-term implications. We will not be going back to business as usual once the pandemic is over. Digital technologies will no doubt play a key role in the global recovery and efforts for building back better.

At the same time, if left unaddressed, the wide divide in terms of digital readiness will get even worse and exacerbate existing inequalities. It will severely limit especially the least developed countries to build economic resilience and facilitate responses to other cross-cutting challenges, such as climate change.

Against this background, the need for effective digital cooperation has never been greater, not only for responding to the pandemic, but also to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs and help bring about more inclusive development outcomes through digitalization. The WSIS Forum is valuable in this context as a way to bring stakeholders together.

Other key platforms to leverage in this context include the UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS). Its Dialogue on the Role of Digitalization in the Decade of Action, brought together brief think pieces by more than 20 Heads of the UNGIS Member Agencies who shared their views on the role of digitalization in achieving the SDGs and building resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CSTD is also a key forum as the focal point in the UN for the treatment of STI for development. It provides a platform for all stakeholders to articulate the role digital technologies as enablers of the SDGs and to provide the. UN General Assembly and ECOSOC with high-level advice on science and technology issues for development.

Finally, the UNCTAD-led eTrade for all initiative also offers a great platform, especially for enabling cost-effective technical support to developing countries in policy areas relevant to e-commerce and development. It now represents a coalition of 32 agencies.

The COVID-19 crisis has added urgency to global digital cooperation. It has emphasized the need to simultaneously address different policy challenges, often in very different local contexts, and to do so in a scaled-up manner. No single organization has the expertise and capacity to do it alone, which is why even more digital cooperation will be needed for “connecting the dots” – across stakeholders, countries and policy areas.

Thank you for your attention.