Singapore has one of the best regulatory models for information and communications technologies (ICT) in the world and its experience can be shared by other regulators, particularly in developing countries which are coping with a number of current policy and regulatory issues.

Mr Haire of IDA gives participants an overview of the history of telecommunications development and liberalisation in Singapore.

Mr Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) Telecommunication Development Bureau, said this as senior ICT policy makers and regulators from developing countries gathered in Singapore in July for a five-day executive programme on ICT development.

The programme on "Enabling Frameworks for ICT Development - The Singapore Experience" is being offered by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) in collaboration with the ITU. It gave an opportunity for participants from Asia Pacific, Africa and the Arab states to study and analyse Singapore's model as a means to catalyse ICT progress in their own countries. The thirty-six participants came from such countries as Bhutan, Brunei, Kenya, Kiribati, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Amongst the speakers sharing the Singapore experience were Mr Andrew Haire, Deputy-Director General (Telecoms), IDA, who gave participants an overview of the history of telecommunications development and liberalisation in Singapore; Mr Muhd Hanafiah, Director, International, IDA, who spoke on policy and regulatory objectives and considerations; and Ms Audrey Lee, Director, Competition and Market Access, IDA, who provided insights on regulatory principles and processes.

The programme, the first of a series, was held at the Singapore e-Government Leadership Centre at the Institute of Systems Science, National University of Singapore. It is an example of action taken to implement the ITU Regional Initiative on Telecommunication/ICT Policy and Regulatory Cooperation in the Asia Pacific Region, which was adopted by the 4th World Telecommunication Development Conference in Doha, Qatar in 2006. The aim is to train at least 30 participants annually over the next three years.

Deputy Chief Executive and Director-General (Telecoms) of the IDA, Mr Leong Keng Thai, said Singapore had embarked on its ICT journey 25 years earlier, and that ICT had contributed greatly to Singapore becoming the confluence of business and culture today. "We are truly pleased that this successful collaboration with ITU allows us to share the Singapore model with developing countries and facilitate their efforts in harnessing ICT for economic and social growth. We look forward to conducting more of such sessions," he said.

Press Release: Singapore and ITU collaborate on training programme in ICT policy