Global Standards Symposium “Towards a better inclusion of the Arab region in the international standardization process” Khédija Ghariani – Secretary General

Global Standards Symposium “Towards a better inclusion of the Arab region in the international standardization process” Khédija Ghariani – Secretary General – AICTO

Dubai, 19 November 2012

“Towards a better inclusion of the Arab region in the international standardization process”

Social & economic growth is not possible without ICT.

In spite of the positive numbers: 6.3 billions of mobile subscribers (ITU, June 2012)

2b,405,510,175 Internet users (World Internet Usage and Population Statistics, June 2012)

Global Standards Symposium - Dubai, 19/11/2012


Digital divide is still a fact namely when its comes to standardization.

The gap is very important between developed and developing countries.

The weak representation of the Arab region within the international standardization bodies.

due to the lack of the necessary skills



It is a multi-stakeholder responsibility (governments, private sector, academia, and civil society)

Efforts should focus on Capacity building



AICTO, is committed to consolidate the current efforts by leading further joint actions focusing on capacity building and awareness campaigns.

To : Disseminate the standardization culture throughout

the Arab region, Focus on the importance of adopting international

standards through the Arab region.



Being an Arab technical organization, with main objectives : Promoting and enriching common strategies for ICT

development in the region, Identifying the Arab needs and skills in the field of ICTs,Membership :

Is open to the public sector (regulators, ….) the international private sector represented in the Arab region, civil society, academia & research centers.

Partnership agreement with : ITU + IEEE



AICTO is full of will to coordinate efforts with all concerned parties on the regional and international level, namely :The Arab Working Group for Standardization and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to :



Raise awareness about the importance to adopt local and regional strategies for the development of practical (user-friendly) and strong standards.

Achieve joint actions aiming at :



Joint actions aiming at : Developing the required skills in the field of

standardization, • A training session has already been scheduled

within AICTO action plan 2013, to be organized jointly with ITU- T.



Joint actions aiming at : Promoting the use of Common/uniform standards

to reduce the cost of cloud services such as : e-government, e-education, e-health,…

Stimulating the debate amongst major players : (Government +private sector and academia) how to boost private investment in the field of standardization to encourage innovation and scientific research.



Joint actions aiming at : Sharing knowledge about standards for cloud

computing which are playing a valuable role in improving the quality of life,

Contributing to the establishment of a global network of regional conformance testing centres – tasked with evaluation products’ degree of compliance with ITU’s international standards.



AICTO stongly supports Algeria’s proposal about: Establishing a Regional Centre for standardization based in Algeria. (ITU Regional Workshop on Bridging the Standardization Gap - for Arab and Africa Regions - September 2011)



Conclusion :

Standards are developed for use in global markets by experts from all parts of the world : Technological innovation is essential and should be given a priority through partnerships between governments and the private sector,

Collaborative work is a must to reduce the existing digital divide in the field of standardization.


Thak you for your attention

Khédija Ghariani Secretary General – AICTO

T : + 216 71 284 187F : + 216 71 846 865Website : www.aicto.org

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Global Standards Symposium “Towards a better inclusion of the Arab region in the international standardization process” Khédija Ghariani – Secretary General