Meetings of telecommunications and information ministers' council kick off

Meetings of the Executive Office of the Arab Telecommunications and Information Ministers Council kicked off here on Wednesday, according to the General Secretariat of the Arab League. Discussions at the meeting dealt with linking Arab internet networks and naming an operator of the Upper Arab broadband, Jordan News Agency (Petra) reported. Arab League Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs Mohamed Tuwaijeri said selecting the operator of the Arab broadband will be based on previous decisions of the council. Applications, he added, should be submitted to the League of Arab States. He noted that a steering committee will be formed to follow up on registration process, in coordination with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The committee, he added, will be in charge of monitoring and evaluating the newly-assigned Arab broadband operator. With regard to linking Arab internet networks, Tuwaijeri said the council has urged ITU's Regional Office to study the project and draw a timeline to implement it before the next Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in 2013. Saudi Arabia is the current chair of the Executive Office, which includes Iraq, Libya, Qatar, Djibouti, Tunisia and Algeria.