Opening Address Mr. Maroun N. Chammas during the Gala Dinner held at the Metropolitan Hotel to conclude “Telecom for Lebanon – Tapping the Diapora” conference on December 29, 2008.
“Your excellencies
Friends of the media
Ladies and Gentlemen
Once again and on behalf of the organizers and their professional team allow me to thank all of you for your presence.
Today was indeed a very fruitful day. The first achievement as mentioned by many of the participants was the fact that the organizers were able to bring all stakeholders and the Diaspora under one roof, in Lebanon, and recognize the fact that each body is key for a better telecom future for our country. Participants engaged into a very fruitful debate during the round table discussions and contributed thousands of hours of combined experience. The second plenary session summarized the work of the round tables that was done during the whole day and it was clear that there is a lot of work to be done.
With respect to the contribution of the Diaspora I am very happy to announce that with the coordination of the Minister two bodies will be created:
The first body will be the International Telecom Council for Lebanon “ITLC” which will act as an advisory board to the Ministry of Telecommunications. This board composed of local and international experts will serve as a support for the Ministry and the Minister of Telecommunications as well as other ministries who wish to benefit from the board expertise to contribute to the economy by supporting the positioning of Lebanon to achieve top tier position in the Middle-East and north Africa. The board will focus on the following:
- Influence world class standing in terms of regulations and processes
- Promote the deployment of the infrastructure
- Independent advisory role such as knowledge transfer and best practice
- Networking and international alliances
- promotion of entrepreneurship in the sector
Taking in to account that the value proposition of Lebanon should be focused as we are niche players.
In e services; Lebanon should be 5 times bigger in 5 years and focus on business process outsourcing in the fields of Media, education, banking, advertising and health care.
Availability of bandwidth should be immediate, affordability should be world class, accessibility should be unlimited and should be provided on a national level in order to promote balanced regional development
Lebanon can have a competitive edge in ICT managed services, high value IP services, system integration and content creation in vertical industries such as Finance, Media and Gaming
As far as the liberalization and privatization, it was agreed that all legislative issues such as the Telecom law 431 should be given absolute priority for implementation, by the creation of Liban Telecom. Differentiation and structural separation between supervisory, and executive layers between wholesale and retail to ensure fair competition and equal treatment must be envisaged.
The investment law 360 of IDAL is to also be promoted. This will prime the pump to the development of all the related sectors such as IT and Media and to ensure fair and active competition in providing regulated ICT services. It will also create the appropriate framework for world class infrastructure and technology to ensure the highest speed and quality in transport at affordable prices.
On the subject of broadband, open access to the existing infrastructure and provide competitive high bandwidth applications and services over networks of no less than 100 mbps at access point and prepare for the issuing of 3 national broadband licenses and unlink the issuance of licenses from the establishment of Liban Telecom.
Adopt and implement concerted action against the illegal providers
The second body will be a follow up committee composed of the members of the organizing committee and by professionals that attended this event. Its task will be to follow up on the recommendations and report the progress.
All of the information will be constantly updated on the website, www.telecomforlebanon.org. The website will serve as a portal.
All participants agreed that the ultimate beneficiary is the Lebanese consumer who has the right for the best service and for Lebanon to regain its prominent position as a business hub.
Opening Address by Mr. Maroun N. Chammas during the opening session of “Telecom for Lebanon– Tapping the Diapora” held at the Metropolitan Hotel on December 29, 2008.
“H.E. Nabih Berry President of the Lebanese National Assembly, represented by Dr. Imad Hoballah
Your excellencies
Distinguished Guests
Friends from the media
Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen
Welcome to the first Lebanese Telecom Diaspora conference. To all of you who have responded and specially those who traveled and taken time away from your holidays and families to be among us today, thank you. You all deserve applause.
Telecom for Lebanon is taking place. This event is past due and recognizes the ever growing leadership of Lebanon’s Diaspora. A tribute in this regard is to be paid to H.E. Minister Bassil for his vision and impulse.
Thanks to the active support of the Ministry and a number of hand picked partners: Berytech, The Partnership for Lebanon, The Professional Computer Association and the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, we were able in a very short time to organize a conference with international dimensions and gather in one room, today, some of the most visionary, articulate and powerful Lebanese executives the telecommunications industry has known and who are shaping the future of telecom worldwide.
It is only fair for Lebanon to tap into the wealth of those bridge builders armed with international knowledge and wisdom, to give their insight, vision and solutions to better shape and take control of the future of our telecom landscape through what is now becoming a conventional industry.
This non partisan non political event will also help the government and resident Lebanese to better understand the expectations of the overseas Lebanese community, and acknowledge the important role played by it.
Lebanon has the right to acquire its rightful place in the comity of nations as an emergent knowledge based economy. Yet until now, we have not harvested the opportunities presented by ICT. Because of the education system, the culture, the open society we live in and the worldwide acceptance they enjoy, Lebanese have better chances than neighboring countries to use and turn ICT development into a service oriented export industry. The development of telecommunications in Lebanon will be key to economic growth by curbing brain drain, igniting the creation of employment and solving many of the worries we are facing today.
Economic development is blind when it comes to religious and political affiliation. Affordable and anywhere accessible broadband is no longer a luxury, it is a must for all Lebanese and a prime responsibility of the government as declared in the declaration of the formation of the government. It can be accomplished very quickly provided that the vision put into place is translated into the will to timely action and that empowerment is given to the different stakeholders.
To that effect, the government is urged today to act on two parallel tracks.
1. Implement telecom law 431 and pursue modernizing our legal framework by implementing international best practice.
2. Support private sector leading companies in their development and growth plans while insuring through the TRA fair competition amongst all players.
Implementing the above will undoubtedly induce long lasting and sustainable growth.
Today's program is certainly challenging. H.E Mr. Bassil will take an essential step forward by submitting to this distinguished audience his policy paper. This long awaited move invites all of us into designing tomorrow. After the address of His Excellency, Dr. Mohamad Safa Advisor to the minister will kick off the plenary session and will introduce 5 speakers who will review the state of condition of 5 main topics that will form the round table discussions.
Ladies and gentlemen, we only have a few short hours to complete this mission and make it a success. Let us all contribute and show how great a nation we can be.
I will now leave you with a word from His Excellency Engineer Gebran Bassil which will conclude this opening session.”
مؤتمر الاتصالات من أجل لبنان
يرعى وزير الاتصالات المهندس جبران باسيل، الساعة التاسعة صباح الاثنين المقبل في 29 كانون الاول، في فندق متروبوليتان- سن الفيل مؤتمر المغتربين اللبنانيين العاملين في قطاع الاتصالات
تشارك في تنظيم هذا المؤتمر وزارة الاتصالات ومؤسسة بيريتيك والهيئة المنظمة لاتصالات والشراكة من اجل لبنان وجمعية المعلوماتية المهنية في لبنان. يفتتح المؤتمر بكلمة لوزير الاتصالات جبران باسيل وكلمة اخرى للسيد مارون شماس
يعقب كلمات الافتتاح جلسة عمل اولى يعرض فيها واقع الحال في لبنان و يتحدث فيها السادة: غبريال الديك، جورج عقيقي، د. نيكولا روحانا، باتريك عيد ود. عماد حب الله. يديرها د. محمد صفا مستشار الوزير. في المؤتمر خمس ورش عمل
الورشة الاولى تحت عنوان" دور الانتشار اللبناني في تنمية قطاع الاتصالات في لبنان" يديرها سامر حلاوي والمقرر حسن قباني
ورشة العمل الثانية تحت عنوان " اين لبنان في مجتمع المعلومات؟ هل يمكنه ان يصبح مركزا محوريا للتكنولوجيا والاتصالات؟" يديرها غازي عطالله والمقرر جورج شماس
ورشة العمل الثالثة تحت عنوان " الاصلاحات التشريعية: الخصخصة، تحرير القطاع وانشاء ليبان تيليكوم". يديرها غسان عويضة والمقرر عثمان سلطان
ورشة العمل الرابعة تحت عنوان " تأثير المعلوماتية والاتصالات على النمو الاقتصادي" يديرها جورج مخباط والمقرر جورج قذيفة
ورشة العمل الخامسة تحت عنوان " خارطة طريق للحزمة العريضة (Broadband) في لبنان" تديرها سامية بحسون والمقرر جورج نازي
بعد ورش العمل التي سيشارك فيها نحو 30 مغتربا لبنانيا من المديرين الكبار في شركات عالمية للاتصالات، ومثلهم من اللبنانيين العاملين في شركات اتصالات لبنانية وفي القطاع العام، سيتولى المقررون تلاوة التوصيات. سيتم ختام هذا المؤتمر بحفل عشاء على شرف المشاركين ومدعوين واعلاميين
يشار في هذا المجال الى ان وزير الاتصالات جبران باسيل سيتواجد طيلة فترة المؤتمر في الفندق حيث سيكون له لقاءات واتصالات مع المشاركين ووسائل الاعلام اللبنانية والعربية والاجنبية
Beirut November 17, 2008 - TELECOM FOR LEBANON CALL FOR SPEAKERS RECEIVES WARM DIASPORA WELCOME
The international call for speakers launched by the Steering Committee for the event "Telecom for Lebanon – Tapping the Diaspora" received a warm welcome from the Diaspora members who responded positively and enthusiastically to attend this event. Participants from all four corners of the globe will fly to Beirut this December to take part in an event regarding the future of Telecom in Lebanon.
The purpose of Telecom for Lebanon is to bring telecom players together in an attempt to map the future of the telecom industry. It is expected that the discussion would lead to a declaration with a list of agreed recommendations. These recommendations could transform Lebanon into a hub for the MENA and shape it into a center for IT, Media, and Telecom.
Telecom for Lebanon - Tapping the Diaspora will take place on December 29, 2008 at the Metropolitan Hotel in Sin el Fil. The event is private and will focus mainly on round table discussions.
Beirut October 6, 2008 - MINISTER BASSIL CALLS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF A DIASPORA DRIVEN TELECOM CONFERENCE
Upon the request of H.E. Eng. Gebran Bassil, Minister of Telecommunications, the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the organization of Telecom for Lebanon - Tapping the Diaspora, took place on October 6, 2008 at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications in Beirut.
"Telecom for Lebanon - Tapping the Diaspora" is an event that will be organized under the auspices of the Minister and co-organized by Berytech Technology Pole, The Partnership for Lebanon (PFL), The Professional Computer Association of Lebanon (PCA) and The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Lebanon and will take place in Beirut on December 29, 2008.
"Telecom for Lebanon" will call upon industry executives from the Lebanese Diaspora to share know-how and provide insights to the homeland, develop linkages between local private-public institutions with counterparts in the Diaspora; and assist in fostering strategic telecom projects that could stimulate economic growth and provide guidance to both the public and private sectors.
The Steering Committee, composed by representatives of the co-organizing institutions, proposed an action plan for the successful implementation of this event. Subsequently, a sub-committee was formed to follow up on logistical, tactical and communication details.
A public announcement will be made in due time.
