 on a paste, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a pleasure to address you today as you meet in Colombo at this Global Symposium of Regulators to discuss the new strategies for the regulation of telecommunications and focus on the progress of information and communications technology. Mr. Secretary General, thank you for the nice comments about Srinagar. You have been here, I think you are, through the end of 2009 at audition. It is timely that this symposium focus on ICG, take place the day after the International Day of the Child because it is a technology that has great attraction and mean to children. It can take their thinking and skills to new heights of achievement. It can promise them a great new world of ideas and innovation. It can also lead them to dangerous influence, draw them away from tolerance and towards extremism. It is a technology that needs to be handled in great care, imposing much more duties and responsibilities. On parents' guidance of their children, the wonders of ICG should not eliminate our children from what is best in their culture and traditional values. I welcome you all to a country that is making great progress, both in telecommunications and ICG. So, soon after ending nearly three decades of terrorism, we do significant emphasis to development of the country. With ICG playing a vital role in the path to progress, the ICG sector stands out in the progress made by Sri Lanka in the past seven years and accelerated in the three years since the defeat of terrorism. Our emphasis on communication has a key part to peace and reconciliation. Can be seen by the speed with which we restore the communication tower in Kokani in the north, destroyed by the forces of terror. This opens speed communication to the area, most damaged by it. Two weeks ago, we also linked the entire non-earlier, radish, vitality to the national power line, which will lead to the progress of telecommunications and ICG in this region. Sri Lanka recognized the need for rapid progress in the field of ICG, a technology that is rising in the height with innovations and new applications that make our world smaller each day. It opens pathways to progress to the people, breaking down the barriers of race, ethnicity, community, faith and geography. And I think pride in this, in standing, stating that our progress has been remarkable. We now have more than 20 million fixed and mobile phone users in our country exceeding the size of our population in what is considered a middle-income country. Our population is greatly bigger. We have 750 nano-cells or rural cell centers, which one can call a knowledge center, as we have largely in the rural sector, linked in the rural people to the benefits of the age of information and empowering them to progress in life. Similarly, our rate of IT in the region has gone to over 40% within the past six years, with opportunity very soon for every school to have a state-of-the-art computer training facilities. These advances have positively impacted on the rural sector and helped the world to grow to the economy. This also makes Sri Lanka a promising destination for investors in device sectors from business also saying to industries, tourism and agriculture, difference. As we move ahead in ICT, Sri Lanka has set the motion of plan to develop a policy and regulatory framework for next generation network on MGA and to have a national broadband policy before the end of this year. We see the importance of broadband connectivity throughout the land for people to fully benefit from the speedy advances in ICT. To take our communication which beyond our land, we are already engaged in constructing what will show me the tallest communication tower in South Asia. It will give telecommunications, telecom operators the opportunity to share a moment and state-of-the-art infrastructure in a faster fashion, taking us closer to be the communications hub of South Asia. Our emphasis on growth of ICT comes from the awareness of the new revolutionary age living, the technology revolution. We see this mist in the smart phone that will soon be the pockets of all. A device that has made the old child computer a primitive piece of technology. We see how mobile communications can bring revolutionary changes to the lives of new life scales, new employment opportunities and new links to markets in one's country and abroad. It can bring new educational opportunities, expand health and healing services, have a possible impact on sustainable development, increase production in agriculture and expand the market potential of small industries and also develop new media. With the essence we have in education, recognition of skills, really trainable workforce and search for new areas of competence among our youth. Sri Lanka will not be left behind in this new age of knowledge. We are ready to watch ahead to the new opportunities being opened by ICT. We have been building, we decided to build in the deep south of Sri Lanka, once the most neglected area in development. We have already other mega infrastructure facilities such as port and international port are being built by new friends. This symposium of strategies and regulators in telecommunications and ICT, look at them. Look at all the challenges ahead with the experience of recent weeks. You will take of ways to prevent this great technology being used to you so hard. Examining how to avoid the advances in the incident of communication being the source and cause of violence against faith, against culture and traditions that need respect and protection. ICT must not be the tool of society that pay homage to material values and pay no heed to the values of decency, tolerance and humility. You will study the areas where the better education is required. How this advances in technology can be abused as much as they are used to benefit people and society. You will consider a new roadmap for progress in a field of technology that is on a path of continuing speed growth. That is the challenge of this significant global forum. I thank the international telecommunications union ITU for giving Sri Lanka our telecommunications regulatory commission, the privilege and opportunity to host this important and timely. We will be able to witness first time what our landlord has been able to do in terms of infrastructure development after a war in Stela. That ended only three years back. It is the proof of our commitment to progress. You will also find our traditional hospitality encouraging for your work. And enable you to take back the best memories of beautiful and friendly people. I wish you all a great success. May you all be blessed.