BANGKOK, 23 April 2024 – “We must become champions of digital inclusion, of innovation, interoperability to bridge the digital divide,” His Excellency President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. emphasized, in his special remarks delivered virtually at the opening of the 80th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok on 22 April 2024.

The Commission Session is an annual intergovernmental forum at the Ministerial level for all Member States of Asia and the Pacific region to review and discuss economic and social issues, and to strengthen regional cooperation.

The President was among the Heads of Government and Heads of State who addressed the representatives of the Asia-Pacific region at the Commission’s 80th Session under the theme “Leveraging digital innovation for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.”

Addressing the 53 Member States of ESCAP, President Marcos stated that “it is now, more than ever, that we need to strengthen digital innovation as it contributes more inclusively to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals across multiple disciplines.” The President shared the Philippines’ various efforts in the country’s digital transformation as an enabler of development and economic prosperity.

The Philippine delegation to the 80th Commission Session was led by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy, who was elected a Vice Chair of the 80th Session. Secretary Uy was joined by H.E. Millicent Cruz Paredes, Philippine Ambassador to Thailand and Permanent Representative to UNESCAP, and distinguished officials from DICT, Department of Finance, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine Statistics Authority, Commission on Population and Development, and Department of Foreign Affairs.

Secretary Uy delivered the country statement, highlighting the Philippines’ commitment to leveraging digital innovation in every facet of society, including the establishment of the National Broadband Program, to strengthen connectivity across the Philippines. The initiative is supported by the comprehensive National Cybersecurity Plan 2023-2028, designed to safeguard cyberspace for all Filipinos.

The country statement supports the President’s special remarks affirming the Philippines as a steadfast partner of multilateralism, regional leadership, and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The 80th Commission Session concludes on 26 April 2024.

For information on the 80th Commission Session, please visit https://www.unescap.org/events/commission80.

Please click here on original article by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)