TRA hosts the 3rd Annual meeting of Arab ICT Regulators Network (ARNET)

The three day annual meeting will also see the United Arab Emirates (UAE) assuming presidency of the group for 2006, taking over from Egypt, which held the position in 2005.

The annual meeting will bring together decision makers of regulatory bodies from all over the Arab region to dwell on the various regulatory aspects of the industry, the opportunities and challenges it faces and arrive at a mitigation framework for regulation of the industry in the future. The meeting will also address the key developments in the ICT sector that are likely to impact on the regulatory framework in the Arab World, including the development of Voice over IP and Wi-Max, increased competition arising from liberalisation of the sector in the region, and in-depth evaluation of individual country strategies.

Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA said,

"ICT is a strategic tool for development and socio-economic growth in the Arab World. Telecom Regulatory Authorities in the region are facing a remit to ensure that the sector grows in an equitable manner throughout the region. The annual meeting of the regulators accords an opportunity to develop on shared expertise and take collective action on factors that encumbers the growth of sector."

The 12 member ARNET, founded in Algiers in 2003, is an independent organization that supports capacity building for Telecommunications Regulatory bodies in the Arab World. A key aim of the network is to build on shared experiences of individual members and develop the expertise in order to facilitate the growth in telecom services and achieving equality of access to such services across the Arab region.

"Equitable access to information and telecommunications technology is the fundamental building block for the development of a knowledge society. Our role as regulators is to ensure that the strategic needs of the states we operate in are not compromised through enacting the right policies and legislations designed to develop the various sectors in the telecom industry, while at the same time protecting the operator and citizens from extraneous factors and promoting ICT as a key tool in development and achievement of socio-economic goals. The annual meeting is the right opportunity for the regional regulators to reassess their commitments and advance their ideas on how best to mitigate the challenges posed by the future," concluded Al Ghanim.