The APEC Telecommunications and Information Working Group is to meet at the Taipei International Convention Center from Sunday to Friday next week.
It is the fourth time that Taiwan is to host the meeting, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said on Wednesday, adding that the nation has previously hosted the working group’s meetings in 1996, 2003 and 2010.
Approximately 250 people are to attend the six-day forum, including government officials from 19 APEC members, experts and representatives from the information and telecommunications industry, the commission said.
The Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association, the Asia-Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team, the Internet Society and the Asia Pacific Network Information Center are to attend the meeting as guests, the NCC said.
APEC members Peru and Brunei would be absent from the meeting, the commission said, adding that China has registered to attend the meeting, despite worsening cross-strait relations.
Ministry of Transportation and Communication Department of Posts and Telecommunications Deputy Director-General Lin Mao-Hsiung (林茂雄) is to act as chairman, the first time for a Taiwanese official is to chair the group since the nation joined APEC in 1991.
Taiwan hosting for the fourth time and a local official chairing the meeting shows that APEC recognizes its efforts toward the development and prosperity of the telecommunications and information industries in the Asia-Pacific region, NCC Chairwoman Nicole Chan (詹婷怡) said.
It demonstrates that Taiwan’s “soft power” in information and communication technology (ICT) can break through the diplomatic barriers facing the nation, she said.
It has been eight years since the last time the nation hosted the working group’s meeting, and changes in ICT have brought challenges, as well as opportunities to traditional telecoms.
The meetings focus has shifted to new ICT applications in the digital economy, including smart city applications, value-added services made possible by big data, digital literacy education and Internet of Things applications for natural disaster response, she said.
Telecoms need to reposition themselves in the digital convergence age, and the meeting is to include two roundtable meetings focusing on expanding universal access to broadband Internet, sharing experiences in building smart cities and identifying best practices in promoting digital literacy, the commission said.
Taipei last week hosted a meeting of APEC’s Health Working group and is to host meetings by the organization’s Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group and Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy later next month.
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