But he also said that his country, like the 21 other countries of the Eastern and Southern African region, are still facing infrastructure challenges because of their inability to be connected to a submarine cable. At the regional level, Uganda spearheaded the formation of one of Africa's most recent regional regulatory associations, the Association of Regulators of Information and Communications for Eastern and Southern Africa (ARICEA).

For the Doha Declaration and Action plan, to be released by the meeting today, its final day, he said Uganda sees the need to focus on strategies to: assist and guide countries in need of enabling environments; provide guidance and facilitation for the development of infrastructure in member countries; and facilitate a mechanism that will enable countries to transition seamlessly from current technologies to Next Generation Networks (NGN).

Interestingly, work on upgrading ICT in Iran has also included an increase in the percentage of women with university degrees working in the sector; their representation has grown from 15 per cent in 1993 to 65 per cent by the end of 2005, with the average growth rate of 14.7 per cent according to Iran's Deputy Minister for International Affairs, Research and Training at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Dr. Kamal Mohamedpour.

Explaining Iran's progress in the field of ICT, he said: "We live a fast moving world, whose dynamism is accelerated by the introduction of new telecommunication services and facilities. This fascinating and breath-taking progress has also brought with itself a widening gap between those who have and those who do not have. We are of the view that the primary mission of the ITU-D is to assist the developing world in bridging this gap, also known as the digital divide. This bridging would have direct impact not only on the well being of humankind, but will also contribute to the world peace and stability on a much broader scale. It will bring nations together, remove misunderstandings, and create an atmosphere of cooperation and togetherness. It is on this plateau that the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the spirit of justice and kindness has contributed to the development of communication services and infrastructure to other friendly countries in our region. We have done this in spite of the fact that we are also a developing country, and have a enormous needs ourselves."

Bridging the digital divide between rich and poor nations, the developed and developing world is of prime importance; the effective and correct provision and use of telecommunications has a basic role in the economic development of nations and can be a major contributor to the development of world peace and security according to Qatar's Prime Minister, Shaikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani. "The means of communication and information technology have become a major pillar for economic and social development in all societies. They have opened a wide scope for consolidating the principles of communication and dialogue and bring closer points of view between people. However, we would like to draw attention of this conference to the crises and negative effects that have been revealed in the last few years and what might result out of the misuse of technology and the means of communications.

This requires attaching great importance to establishing the legal and regulatory environment and the technical methods that would secure the optimum use of the resources of knowledge. We do believe in the necessity to enhance joint action between governments, international and regional organisations, the private sector, the civil society organisations and other concerned bodies to realise the goals of this conference, on top of which is the Doha Declaration and World Action Plan for the next four years. I am sure that with your joint efforts, this conference will agree on a list of priorities and the proper solutions in support of the projects that can eliminate the technological and knowledge gap [between the developed and developing world] and effectively implement the results and recommendations of the world summit of information society. "

Some 600 delegates from around the world have gathered in Qatar for the meeting. International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Deputy Secretary General, Roberto Blois, says that a clear roadmap has already been created to breach the existing digital divide in the world and, together with the advances made in the telecommunications sector over the past decade now need to be translated into action. The World summit on the Information Society, (WSIS) meeting in Tunis last November, set a goal for all villages, schools, libraries and local bodies should be connected to Information and communications Technologies (ICT) by 2015. That, pointed out Blois, needs the development of low-cost technologies and the wider, cheaper provision of broadband.

Qatar is moving to provide internet connections and networking facilities that will allow schools and universities in eight countries of the Middle East and Asia to connect to their counterparts in Qatar within the next two years. Technological access is important for all communities across the globe if they are to be economically competitive in today's changing world, according to the Emir's daughter, Shaikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, the founder of the Reach Out to Asia (ROTA) charity. Addressing a panel session WTDC, she spoke of Asia's potential and the importance of education and technological connectivity in its development.

ROTA, Shaikha Al Mayassa noted, is a determined initiative, established under the aegis of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Communications Technology, with the aim of relieving poverty in Asia, improving health care and developing economies particularly through the development of educational opportunities. ROTA, and the Qatar Foundation, she said, are determined to help the global community reach the Education for All Millennium Development Goal goal, with particular emphasis on primary and secondary education. "We firmly believe that access to education is critical to sustainable development and in promoting the participation of citizens in their immediate communities and in the world," she said.

'Connect ROTA', Shaikha Al Mayassa said, is a Qatari initiative to create a regional knowledge network between schools and universities in the Middle East and Asia. "Such a network will improve access to knowledge-sharing, networking  and the application of ICTs to enhance educational quality and research competence." she said. Rota's target for 2008 is to connect remote schools/universities in eight Asian countries to schools and universities in Qatar, using affordable: wireless broadband networks. The countries involved are: Iraq, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal and Indonesia.

Malta was one of the first countries to digitalise its telecommunications network, in the early nineties, and the Maltese Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, Censu Galea, stressed the importance of ICT in development, while representatives from Suriname pointed to the fact that while ICT development would provide remote communities with access to information and lead to the development of knowledge and skills which in turn would have a multiplier effect for the improvement of standards of living, there is a major challenge in even providing basic telephone services to remote areas. However, Alice Amafao, Minister of Transport, Communications and Tourism, says the country recognises the importance of telecommunications as a catalyst for social and economic development, and has begun to restructure its telecommunications sector and hopes to draw on support from the ITU's Telecommunications Development Bureau.

Marc Furrer, from Switzerland, echoed Suriname's concerns: "the digital divide is no longer an abstract concept. It is real and we have to make all efforts to bridge it. In many countries of the North we enjoy an 'embarrassment of richness' with regard to ICT services and bandwidth, while in many countries of the South there are still not enough basic services such as simple access to a telephone." Such countries, he added, must be helped to improve their regulatory systems and concepts such as universal service obligation must be implemented. "We have to find new ways to solve problems like internet interconnection costs, where developing countries pay for the internet used mainly by developed countries. And we also have to find ways for developing countries to benefit from new technologies like VoIP."

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) signed two agreements on the sidelines of the WTDC in Doha. An agreement with Alcatel seeks to support telecommunications students in developing countries. Alcatel will train 30 students from developing countries each year at its training centre in France and will provide sponsorship of $20,000 this year for higher studies of ITU-selected students, with a cap of $10,000 per student. Cisco, meanwhile, signed an agreement with the ITU to set up Internet training centres in developing countries and to offer information technology scholarships to one hundred women. Cisco currently runs 60 internet training centres in 49 countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Indonesia, Zambia, Romania, Mauritania, Ruwanda, India, China and Tanzania.