Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to thank our co-organizers, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, together with the National Information Technologies Joint Stock Company and Astana Hub, for their excellent partnership and support.
I am pleased that this side event has highlighted numerous digital solutions from the region, demonstrating that the Asia-Pacific region is truly a hub for innovation.
I would encourage further dialogue, strengthened partnerships and continued exchange of practices amongst member States to scale up digital initiatives and harness their potential for accelerating SDGs.
It is timely that later today, ESCAP will sign the Host Country Agreement with the Government of Kazakhstan to jointly organize the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Digital Inclusion and Transformation from 3 to 5 September 2024 in Astana.
The conference is expected to commit to a visionary and ambitious blueprint for digital cooperation in Asia and the Pacific, and I would request you all to extend your support to Kazakhstan by nominating your respective digital Ministers to the conference.
In closing, I would like to reiterate our unwavering commitment and supporting member States in accelerating digital inclusion and transformation for sustainable development.
Thank you very much.
