Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 4 / Trend , U.Ismayilova/
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) believes that IT will be a major part of overcoming the global financial crisis, ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Toure said in Baku today at a meeting of Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) communications ministers.
"The IT field is flexible," Toure said. "It constantly opens new jobs and implements new projects that could help overcome the crisis."
During his speech, Toure noted that after his first visit to Azerbaijan in 2007, the country has undergone significant development in the field of IT.
He added that the ITU is engaged in a serious debate on climate change.
"We believe that modern IT will reduce gas emissions into the air," Toure said.
In late November Minsk will host the Second Regional Commonwealth of Communications Summit, which is a regional assembly for IT development, he said.
"Our main goal is to eliminate cultural and linguistic barriers in the CIS," Toure added.
According to Regional Commonwealth of Communications Executive Director Nuriddin Mukhitdinov, the summit will take place Nov. 24-27. Relevant IT issues will be discussed such as information security and improving the climate.
The Baku meeting of BSEC countries is attended by representatives from nine of 12 members.
The meeting is part of the Azerbaijani BakuTel-2009 International Exhibition.
During the meeting, the heads of communications administrations are discussing regional development, IT development and cooperation in the BSEC.
Azerbaijan will introduce the East-West Informational Superhighway Project designed to connect 20 countries and serve as an engine for regional IT development. The project will eliminate the "IT gap" between countries in Western Europe and the Pacific.
After the meeting, the BSEC communications ministers will work to adopt a declaration and action plan by May 2010.
A declaration on BSEC was signed by the heads of states and governments from 11 countries of the region in Istanbul in 1992. Twelve countries are BSEC members, including Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Armenia, Greece, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia.
The attractiveness of BSEC as an international organization is increasing. This is testified by the fact that Austria, Germany, Egypt, Israel, Poland, Italy, Slovakia, France, Tunis, Belarus, Croatia, the U.S., Czech Republic and the European Energy Charter Conference have the status of BSEC observers.
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