UN meeting on least developed countries addresses Internet access issues

The United Nations met for three days in Turkey to discuss the concerns of the world’s least developed countries (LDCs). During the conference, a governing council for the LDC Technology Bank was launched, to better support access to, and the use of, science, technology and innovation. Furthermore, the meeting adopted a political declaration, which assessed progress made in different areas of development, including access to the Internet and mobile networks. The declaration expresses concerns ‘that fewer than 7 per cent of households in the least developed countries have access to the Internet, that many of the least developed countries lack affordable access to information and communications technologies and that, for the majority of the poor, the promise of science, technology and innovation remains unfulfilled.’