Telecoms summit ends with declaration

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): A three-day international conference on telecommunications ended here yesterday with a pledge to remove inequalities in telecommunication and information access and to support the creation of a global information infrastructure in the 21st century.

The meeting, held at the Bandung Institute of Technology, also ended with the signing of joint venture agreements by members of four consortia which won contracts to build telecommunication facilities in Kalimantan, Central Java, Sumatra and West Java.

The summit, which focused on human resource development in the field of telecommunications, was attended by more than 400 executives from various international telecommunication companies, government officials and communication experts.

The meeting was closed yesterday by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave.

The "Bandung Declaration", read by Secretary-General of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Jonathan L. Parapak, urged continued attention to the development of human resources in the telecommunications sector to support the creation of national information systems and networks and a global information infrastructure in the 21st century.

The declaration also addressed the issues of human resource development and improving economic growth, employment and quality of life in a comprehensive, integrated and coordinated manner. The delegates pledged to involve all concerned parties, with the objective of creating a fair, equitable and humanistic future society.

The declaration called on all parties, including governments, the private sector and international organizations, to contribute all efforts to develop human resources in telecommunications and information. It encouraged the use of appropriate mechanisms -- such as the "tripartite approach" where participating parties support the efforts of developing countries for the transfer of technology -- to reach the objective of sharing knowledge, experience and expertise while enhancing creativity in the telecommunication and information field. It also urged that inequalities inherent in information and communication systems be removed.

Unity

Joop, in his closing address yesterday, acknowledged the important role of telecommunications in uniting Indonesia and in linking it to the world.

Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world with a population of 195 million, currently has one of the lowest telephone densities with only two telephone lines for every 100 people.

"We want you to help us in a spirit of partnership, because we are a nation in a hurry to achieve development," he said to the participants of the conference.

Indonesian companies, he said, have also been striving to progress in the field of information and telecommunications.

He cited that several domestic companies have won contracts to build telecommunication facilities in Cambodia and Myanmar, while requests have also been coming from India and the Slovak Republic.

In spite of the achievements, Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro, who addressed the conference yesterday, pointed out that Indonesia has a lot of catching up to do.

In the development of software, he said, Indonesia has fallen behind the other six emerging industrial countries in Asia (Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand).

In 1993, Indonesia's software market, gained only US$46 million and ranked second from last compared to the other countries whose markets ranged between US$35 million and US$280 million.

Indonesia's software market increased to US$61 million last year and is expected to reach US$76 million this year.

South Korea's market, in contrast, is estimated to reach US$400 million this year.

Wardiman said that Indonesia also faces a serious lack of human resources in the information and telecommunications sectors.

He illustrated that to achieve information technology developments, one professional or skilled worker is required for every 4,000 people.

"This means that by the year 2020, some 60,000 people are needed. Currently, we have less than 2,000," he said.

In order to reach the targeted 60,000 by 2020, he said, Indonesia must produce 2,300 professionals and skilled workers each year.

"Presently, however, we produce less than 600 a year from domestic education institutions and about 50 from overseas institutions," he said. (pwn)