A record number of delegates from the world’s leading information and communication technology (ICT) policy makers last week met in Beirut in an effort to come to grips with the pressing challenges of a fast-changing technology environment.

Hosted by ITU, the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), under the high patronage of the President of Lebanon, Michel Sleiman, the Global Industry Leaders Forum and Global symposium for Regulators from around the world share experiences and forge common approaches to managing today’s highly complex ICT market.

As the lines between different types of services become increasingly blurred, ICT regulators face a huge challenge in trying to minimize market distortions arising from the different regulatory treatment of different technologies, in order that markets flourish, operators are free to adopt the most effective and advantageous technologies and consumers get the best deals in terms of price and service quality.

The meetings, which was held in Beirut’s Habtear Grand Hotel convention centre, were opened by Mr. Gibran Bassil Lebanon’s Minister of telecommunication and others.

In his opening remarks to delegates from over 110 countries world-wide titled “Hands on or Hands off” Stimulating Growth Through Effective Regulation” is particularly relevant in the context of the current economic crisis, when many governments are looking to the ICT sector to reenergize  debilitated national economics.

“In every field of human endeavour, and in every crisis we face, ICTs are part of the solution.  ICTs are directly responsible for job creation in the knowledge economy.” He said.

The Director of ITU’s Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT), Mr. Sani Al Basheer noted that he was very proud that ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau can offer this platform for the main actors of an industry to imagine, design, build and administer the markets, networks and services that the citizens, businesses and governments request for their development.

Dr. Saad Al Barrak, chairman of the 2009 GLLF, a one-day meeting that complements the GSP by focusing specifically on the regulatory needs of private industry, explained that mobile telephony has become a prerequisite for economic growth, adding that it is one of the most powerful national builders of this present age.

“Today, we are at a crucial juncture in the evolution of the ICT sector” he said. A place where regulators and policy markets must join operators on the same journey, because quite simply, our goals cannot be achieved as long as they exists, he added.

GLLF participants are encouraged to offer their views and contributions on key issues, with their input serving as basis of the GLLF chairman’s report, which was presented to GSR delegates.

Dr. Kamel Shehadi, who is chairing this year’s Global Symposium for Regulators, reiterated the TRA’s commitment to liberalising Lebanon’s ICT markets to inject new energy and service innovation. “TRA has made significant progress in a very short time span. It is now ready to move ahead liberalise mobile, international and remaining bottlenecks to broad band telecommunication services in 2010.”

Shehedi praised ITU as a role model for effective public practice partnership. Unique among UN specialised agencies, ITU membership comprises not only 191 member states, but over 700 private sector members, who play an active role in ITU’s technical standardization, spectrum management and development work.