DAVAO CITY, Philippines -- Representatives of the various Information and Communications Technology (ICT) councils in Mindanao have agreed to align their initiatives with the strategies identified under the island region's 10-year socio-economic development plan that seeks to attain affordable and high-speed connectivity, addressing the digital divide.

In a joint statement signed by the Mindanao ICT councils and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) at the opening of fourth National ICT Summit here Friday, industry players affirmed the importance of ICT in fast-tracking the socio-economic transformation of Mindanao, and committed to collaborate in addressing the challenges facing the country’s ICT sector.

The joint statement highlighted the formulation of a Mindanao-wide ICT Investment Plan that would include detailed roadmap of how the island can accelerate investments and strengthen mechanisms that will enable Mindanao to attract digital opportunities to facilitate economic growth.

The Mindanao ICT Councils also committed to align their plans and projects with the strategies identified under MinDA’s Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework, particularly the broader aim for the establishment of a coherent Mindanao ICT plan that seeks to realize the island’s ICT potentials and address digital divide.

“Our 20-year vision for Mindanao includes the attainment of state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure that provides reliable, affordable and high-speed connectivity, and one that provides the means to achieve integrated economic growth,” said MinDA chairperson Secretary Luwalhati Antonino.

The ICT councils urged the rest of the ICT stakeholders in Mindanao to take part in the formulation and subsequent implementation of the investment plan. They also called on the private sector to collectively push for advocacies to improve the business environment and identify development programs and projects that can be jointly pursued.

It was reported during the summit that the Philippines remains the number one call center destinations in the world since 2010, overtaking India by a significant margin. This status was attributed by several ICT experts to the world-class quality customer service that only Filipinos can provide.

However, alongside the opportunities that ICT can bring to speed up growth and development in certain areas, the imperative for greater access to ICT by a larger section of the society has also emerged.