Press Releases 2004

USTDA South Asia Communications Conference Opens

April 22, 2004

South Asia Telecommunications Management Training Program Announced

NEW DELHI - Improving communications infrastructure in South Asian nations is the focus of a major conference sponsored by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) taking place at the Grand New Delhi Hotel through April 23, 2004.

"A well-developed communications infrastructure is an essential ingredient for economic development in the 21st century," said USTDA General Counsel Leocadia I. Zak in remarks at the opening plenary. "This conference is designed to promote a public-private sector dialogue on how best to build that infrastructure in South Asia."

Under the theme A United States - South Asia Dialogue on Regulatory Change and Market Growth, the conference is designed to provide a forum for the discussion of policy trends, development strategies, and near-term trade and investment opportunities in South Asia. The conference program includes participation by senior U.S. Government and regional officials from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

In addition to Ms. Zak, other speakers at the opening plenary session today were Robert O. Blake, Jr., Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi; Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry; and Mr. Pradip Baijal, Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India. Mr. Carl B. Kress, USTDA Chief of Staff, moderated the opening plenary. Ambassador David A. Gross, Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State, presented a keynote luncheon address. Other participants in the forum include senior-level government delegates and representatives from leading private sector companies from each country represented at the conference.

During the conference program today, Ms. Zak announced USTDA funding for a South Asia Telecommunications Management Technical Assistance Training Program. Under this program, USTDA will fund the participation of sixteen delegates from the countries participating in the conference in training at the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI). USTTI is a non-profit joint venture between leaders of the U.S. telecommunications, broadcast, and information technology industries, as well as senior U.S. Government officials.

The USTDA-funded participation of the delegates in the training will increase their knowledge in the areas of spectrum management; information and communications technology policy and network management/design; regulatory frameworks and privatization; and Internet technology. Once the training is complete, it will serve to improve communications infrastructure policy within South Asia and facilitate economic development in the region.

Many of the communications officials participating in the conference will present information on a variety of projects under development to expand communications infrastructure in South Asia. The projects featured present partnership and procurement opportunities for U.S. companies with telecommunications expertise totaling over $14 billion. Project areas include fixed-line infrastructure, mobile systems, wireless local loops, satellite services, data networking and Internet access.

The Conference is being held in cooperation with the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission, and has received the support of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), U.S.-India Business Council, U.S.-Pakistan Business Council, Satellite Industry Association, Telecommunications Industry Association, and the United States Telecommunications Training Institute.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. USTDA's strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.
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