Brussels, 23/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission intends more actively promoting the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as instrument to combat poverty, main objective assigned to the new European policy for development co-operation with poor countries.
The communication, which the College adopted on Wednesday, on the "role of information and communication technologies in the Community's development policy", stresses that ICT potentially offers considerable possibilities to combat social and economic inequalities, to support the sustainable production of local wealth, and thereby contribute to development. Setting out from there, the Commission intends using these technologies as tool for helping achieve development objectives in six priority areas of intervention guiding the Community's policy of development co-operation (trade and development, regional integration and co-operation, support for macroeconomic policies and social services, transport, food security, enhancing institutional capabilities). This ambition presupposes that Europe share its experience of the information society with developing countries and that countries interested study the actions adapted to their situation as well as their priorities, with the assistance of the international community, Commission sources say.
The Commission proposes taking ICT's into consideration in the framework of its strategic studies, national and regional, and striving for a complementary nature and increased co-ordination with Member states.
The recent approval of the regional ICT programme of 63.5 million euro in favour of Latin America, like the one that already exists for Asia (Asia IT1C) and the Mediterranean (Eumedis), is an example that the Commission envisages extending to the ACP group (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific), with resources from the 9th European Development Fund.