 Welcome to the ITU studio in Geneva. I'm very pleased to be joined in the studio today by Dr. Ahmad Sharifat Who is the chairman of the ITUD study group too as well as being advised to the minister for the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology for the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr. Sharifat. Thank you very much for joining us in the studio today. My pleasure Now I'd like to start off by talking about the fact that Dr. Sharifat You've led a group of renowned experts for the production of the ITU report on ICTs for sustainable development goals I wanted to ask you there are several studies and debates on how ICTs are key enablers for economic growth and innovation Perhaps you could tell us a little bit about the main outcomes of this study and how in your opinion It's added to the value of existing discussions and its contribution of course to the UN sustainable development goal Thank you for the opportunity Let me take you back a little bit To the background of this study Prior to the turn of the century the world leaders recognized that there is a need to Properly and effectively address some of the main and important problems that humanity is facing and so they developed the Millennium Development Goals also known as MDGs the Millennium Development Goals were set for the period between 2000 and 2015 and as we approached the end of this period the world leaders recognized that more serious problems are present and There is an actual need to draw the attention of the world community to these issues and to these problems and In their wisdom they identified 17 sustainable development goals and 169 activities that goes with these 17 sustainable development goals What we are doing in the ITU is actually to Concentrate The efforts and the attention That the ICT plays an ever-increasing important role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Nevertheless the existing literature and the existing work on The sustainable development goals and in particular the role of ICTs in sustainable development goals have gone mostly On describing how good ICT could be What sets our work apart from the existing work is that we try first to focus on the need for sustainability sustainability Should not be taken for granted It has its own costs. It has its own requirements and we are trying to identify What needs to be done? In the background in order to achieve and attain the sustain and the sustainable development goals So in this respect first we are focusing on the need for sustainability identifying What are the important elements that ensure sustainability? and also Chart the way forward to identify specific action areas That require the attention of in different stakeholders and not only in the ICT sector, but in other sectors as well so The first distinguishing factor in our work is that it identifies That there is a need for action and we identify what some of the important actions that are critically important in achieving The sustainable development goes through the application of ICTs. We identify those action areas and the second point that we are also focusing is that in doing so We Need to have a joint effort. It is not just the ICT sector. It is a multi sectoral multi Players type of activity that we are focusing on and in doing so we would be You know drawing the attention of the world leader the world community that it is not only good to identify and to emphasize the importance of sustainability but We also need to take action and we try to identify what those actions are now this year We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the ITU development sector of which you're very familiar with I'm sure and The ICT landscape has obviously changed tremendously in these past decades I Really wanted to find out from you. How do you think this this study on ICT for STGs will contribute to? Responding to many of today's challenges Well, I think the existing landscape provides an enormous opportunity To put into practice as some of the novel ideas That are essential in Forming and shaping the future We are focusing on the need for Bringing in more innovative approaches And in doing so we are identifying what needs to be done by different stakeholders to facilitate an environment of innovation That's one of the key areas of the work that we're doing. The other is that we are also recognizing that ICTs can be can play a key role in creating jobs Job creation is an important and ever-increasing subject in the world not only in developing countries, but also in developed world as well and we One of the objectives of this study is to address this Need for creating new jobs in in order to achieve this we recognize that We need again to take specific actions. We need to revise the curricula in our educational system we need to Create as I said an environment in which Innovation would be facilitated and encouraged. So these are the new elements that we are trying to address, of course the technical landscape is Very Fluid and developing very quickly and there are specific areas that look very promising to name a few the internet of things or internet of everything the Big data analytics the fifth generation networks and also cloud computing or some of the items that can contribute to the advancement of many of the Objectives of humanity and and the world at large and We would try to identify what needs to be done in order to provide an environment in which A harmonious and forward-looking environment is being created now the Islamic Republic of Iran obviously takes ICTs very seriously. You have a ministry of information and communication technologies. I know this report is obviously looking at this the Elements that have been there going on over the last Decades essentially but also looking at best practices as well. Are these some which are you already implementing in in Iran? Are they some that you'll be taking on board and looking to implement in the future? This subject is of course in is an evolving one It is developing day by day but in Iran we are keen on taking the The experiences of other countries and also Taking into account some of the requirements that are specific to countries and to regions even and so I think we are immensely putting into practice some of the Notions that we have developed throughout developing this report and this study and we will continue to do that in future Now there are a number of studies that are obviously have already come out How do you think this one will differ from the others? As I said the existing studies are mostly of descriptive nature They describe how good ICTs can be and they describe what Are the objectives? But they are not very specific on what needs to be done in order to achieve those objectives and the difference between this study And the other work is that we are focusing on specific actions and identify those for different stakeholders Were you involved in any specific topic in this study or were you you have been involved in all around in the production of it? No, I was involved from the very beginning and the overall structure of the report I'm writing the first chapter which guides the other chapter and and provides an introduction into the subject and and describes the rationale for for this report, but I'm also Working closely with the authors responsible for the other chapter to make sure that It is in line with expectations that was discussed in our previous meeting. Well, I'm sure we've got very high expectations for it I'm I'm sure we won't be disappointed many. Thanks indeed for your contribution to the study But also for your presence in the studio today. Thank you very much. Thank you