Overview
Following the successful program, "Cabinet Forum: Harnessing ICT for Effective Governance," which took place in Manila, Philippines on November 12, 2004, both Council members and ASEAN government officials expressed the need for a group within the Council focused on ICT in the region. The group would be designed to promote US business interest in ICT and technology innovation in the region by identifying opportunities to both educate governments and influence decisions on issues related to technology.

In response, the Council formed the ICT Working Group. Through public-private partnerships, consultative meetings and ICT programs involving US and regional government officials, the US-ASEAN Business Council ICT Working Group will be the leading technology business organization dedicated to advancing the technology goals of ASEAN and individual ASEAN countries.

Mission
In the context of an ever evolving technology environment, the Working Group will focus on pressing for investment and cooperation opportunities related to ICT between Council members, ASEAN member countries, and the ASEAN region as a whole.

The Working Group will focus on:

1. Promoting what technology can do for citizens, governments, and businesses in the region
2. Shaping a regulator environment that allows technology to flourish through
   a. Trade initiatives
   b. Reducing regulatory complexity/improving transparency
   c. IPR protection
   d. Promotion of a neutral Government procurement policy
   
3. How governments organize around technology

To learn more about the Council's ICT Working Group, please contact:
Putri Alam
Coordinator, ICT Working Group
Director, Information Services
palam@usasean.org

August: Consultation with ASEAN Telecommunications & IT Senior Officials. Laos. Contact: Putri Alam at palam@usasean.org

TBA: ASEAN IPR Workshop. Thailand. Contact: Putri Alam at palam@usasean.org

more upcoming events

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 myGovt ranked top 11 in 198 countries The Star, Jun 25

 MICT organises "Government Economic Forum" The Nation, Jun 25

 NTC to issue new policies to regulate telcos Business Mirror, Jun 24

 Lawmaker reiterates need for DICT  Inquirer, Jun 24

 Conference on e-governance opens in Singapore Gulf Times, Jun 16

US-Vietnam ICT Dialogue
Working Group Meeting

Washington, DC, November 12-14, 2008

In 2007, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce launched the U.S.-Vietnam ICT Commercial Dialogue with the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) in Vietnam to discuss various ICT issues that have an impact on trade between our two countries. This year, the U.S. hosted the Working Group meeting of the Dialogue, November 12-14.

The US-ASEAN Business Council was privileged to coordinate industry input and presented on behalf of the Business Advisory Group at the Working Group Meeting. For a copy of the Industry Recommendations Paper, click here.

The Council also hosted the delegation, which was led by Director General Uyen, for a welcome reception on November 12. The reception was made possible by the generous support of Council members QUALCOMM and Intel.

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The Economist Intelligence Unit's
2008 IT Industry Competitiveness Report

"The Means to Compete: Benchmarking IT Industry Competitiveness" is a study written by the Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by Business Sofware Alliance. The index and the report are the first attempt to compare countries' performance in building an environment for IT industry competitiveness; 64 countries are covered across seven regions. Singapore ranked in the top 3 for "IT Talent & Skills" and "Government Support". For a complete copy of the report, please click here.

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Business Monitor International's
Q3 2008 Telecommunications Report

Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand

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ICT Working Group Business Mission to Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur
November 15-16, 2007

The ICT Working Group held its second mission to the region with a visit to Malaysia on November 15-16, 2007. The ICT Mission immediately followed the US-Malaysia Business Council's mission. The Delegation was co-lead by Council President Matthew Daley and ICT Working Group Co-Chair Joseph Alhadeff of Oracle Corporation. In addition to Oracle, companies that participated in the mission were Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Unisys.

The mission's main event was a Roundtable discussion with officials from Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Water, Energy and Communication. The Roundtable was co-organized with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). Entitled “Building Malaysia’s Next Generation Workforce through ICT”, the Roundtable discussed how the private sector can better collaborate with the Government of Malaysia to enhance education outcomes at all levels, including tertiary training, using ICTs as an enabler of those outcomes. The goal is for Malaysia to become the go-to place for a pool of highly skilled knowledge workers, including managers, scientists and technical experts.

• Roundtable's Annotated Agenda (Members only)
• Roundtable's Meeting Minutes (Members only)

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ICT Working Group Mission to the
ASEAN Telecommunications & IT
Senior Officials and Ministers Meeting (TELSOM/TELMIN)

Siem Reap, Cambodia
August 22-23, 2007

The US-ASEAN Business Council is priveleged to held the first ever private sector dialogue with the ASEAN Telecommunications & IT Senior Officials during the ASEAN TELSOM/TELMIN Meeting in Siam Reap, Cambodia, August 22-23. The Council's delegation is led by Mr. Natasak Rodjanapiches, Regional Managing Director for Oracle Corporation. Companies that were also part of the delegation are QUALCOMM and Motorola.

In addition to meeting with the Senior Officials, Council's delegation also had bilateral meetings with H.E. Muhammad Nuh, Indonesian Minister for Communication & Information (top picture - fifth from left), H.E. Lee Boon Yang, Singaporean Minister for Information, Communication & the Arts (bottom picture - fifth from right), and Mr. Jaime Fortes, Philippines' Deputy Commissioner for National Telecommunication.

For a copy of our Issues Paper that we present at the dialogue, please click here (Council Members only). For more information, contact Putri Alam at palam@usasean.org.

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