Mubarak: Integration by developing economies into the new global system, a must

Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Ebeid delivered President Hosni Mubarak's address to the Group of 15 summit that opened in Jakarta on today.

"Ongoing developments in the Middle East resulting from the illegitimate Israeli practices in violation of all international charters have not allowed President Mubarak to attend this summit", he said.

"To launch full economic and social development at the beginning of the 21st century, progress in the information technology and communications sphere must be propelled so as to give impetus to sustainable economic growth in developing countries," he added.

"Developing countries must concert their efforts to overcome difficulties that may arise once they begin to interact in the vital sphere of IT and to achieve the proper level of basic and scientific infrastructure to realize a technological surge," Ebeid said.

"The private sector has to play a key role together with the government to reduce the costs of production and development and improve competitiveness of products of developing countries in world markets," he expounded.

Ebeid called on industrial countries to play a positive role to allow developing nations to benefit from the technology and information revolution.

The developing economies have to integrate into the new global system by removing obstacles to the flow of IT, pushing forward the G-15 to a prominent position on the world's competitive map, he said.

He stressed the importance of establishing strong and fruitful partnership between the G-15 and the industrial G-8 in IT and communications sphere.