Pakistan has been elected as the Chair of the new United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, officials said. The UN Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force working under the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process, under the auspices of the UN, transitioned into a new body called the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development to function as a platform for cross-sectoral policy and partnership dialogue on the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for enhancing the achievement of development goals, notably the reduction of poverty, ensuring sustainable development and water energy. The inaugural meeting of the UN/GAID was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, recently and was inaugurated and attended by the Malaysian Prime Minister and the Deputy Secretary General of the UN. At this meeting a new body of UN/GID Champions Group held its first meeting in which Barrister Zahid Usman Jamil from Pakistan was unanimously elected the chair of the UN/GAID Champions Group. The group is anticipated to contribute advice and input for formulation of future policies under the UN/GAID structure and will be responsible for the formation of the network of individuals who will liaise with government, business, civil society and all stakeholders to advocate and implement the outcomes of UN/GAID at domestic, regional and global levels.
