Bangkok--29 Jun--ICT The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will host the Bangkok International ICT Expo 2007 this November. The event has been streamlined to focus on business-to-business trading, rather than a customer-driven and to educate the general public on the ICT technology for sustainable development with in the realm of Sufficiency Economic Philosophy and to showcase the country’s readiness for the international ICT penetration. Professor Dr. Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, Minister of Information and Communication Technology said that the Ministry has been determined to continuously and consistently develop Thailand’s Information and Communication technology by hosting another Bangkok International ICT Expo 2007 to celebrate His Majesty the King’s 80 Anniversary in 2007, to increase public awareness on the use of ICT for sustainable development under the Sufficiency Economic Philosophy, to establish public confidence on the ICT development policy, and to demonstrate Thailand’s keenness for the international ICT expansion. The Bangkok International ICT Expo 2007 will be organized under the theme “Towards A Sustainable ICT Ecosystem” or “ICT for A Sustainable Development”. This year’s event will be managed by Impact Exhibition Management Co., Ltd. and PICO Thailand Plc. The ICT Minister added that Thailand has been facing challenges on ICT development on the national level such as, firstly, to bridge digital divide between the Thai population in the city and upcountry, between the Thai and the world community for a better quality of life. The country has continuously invested in information infrastructure and promoted the information industry with measures to bridge digital divide to overcome a challenge of the communication technology infrastructure development. And lastly, the ICT human resource development in all levels to prepare Thailand for the Knowledge-based Society has become an important task in the wave of digital economy. The Bangkok International ICT Expo 2007 will be the fourth and different from the previous three as in this year’s event, the Ministry will upgrade it to focus on business-to-business trading, rather than on a consumer-driven alone. The event will act as a stage for the exhibitors to showcase their latest ICT technology domestically and internationally. The 2007 exhibition will be a tool to raise an importance of ICT development to establish a foundation and a sustainable development under the Sufficiency Economic Philosophy through an international cooperation in trade, investment and ICT innovation that help generate incomes for better living and lead the Thai society to a Knowledge-based Society equally, consistently, and self-sufficiently. The event aims also to extend an opportunity to Thai entrepreneurs to confidently enter into the international trade competition with standard ICT application in the small and medium-sized enterprises. “Another main concept of the Bangkok International ICT Expo is to turn it into a stage for students from all institutions to display their own ICT innovations, as new business opportunities always can rise. New innovations even in the starter’s level might be able to be further developed into a very commercial product. At the present, Thailand’s ICT development has advanced to be on the top level of Asia; hence, it needs more capital investment, efficient research and development, and the human capital to develop the country,” the Minister said. Mr. Sue Lo-Uthai, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Acting Permanent Secretary said that the Bangkok International ICT Expo in the past three years were very successful. The event drew in more than 300,000 visitors each year and generated over five billion baht. The Bangkok International ICT Expo has been a potential strategy to increase the country’s competitiveness. The Ministry has set the target of international and domestic exhibitors to be around 200 companies and official country alliances from 12 nations. The Bangkok International ICT Expo 2007 will be able to establish a confidence on the country’s ICT development policy and demonstrate her readiness for the international ICT penetration. The highlights of the Bangkok International ICT Expo will be in four parts; Part 1 the Showcase that will be comprised of The King Pavilion—an exhibition of HM the King’s Sufficiency Economic Philosophy where the King Bhumibhol leads his subjects to the most sustainable path to attain peace and happiness which is to acknowledge one’s sufficiency, to limit all risks, together with an increase of life immunities together with knowledge and morality. To celebrate HM the King’s 80th Anniversary, the Ministry will demonstrate how the ICT can be linked to the communities and ways of lives under the realm of sufficiency economic philosophy such as in the applications of E-government, E-society, E-education, E-commerce, and E-industrial. Part 2 the Trade Zone will display the capacity of domestic and international ICT entrepreneurs both in private and public sectors. Part 3 ICT Forum will host seminars attended by representatives from government agencies and leading ICT companies. Part 4 Consumer Product offers an open meeting space for ICT operators and consumers. The Bangkok International ICT Expo 2007 will be organized in conjunction with Thailand Animation and Multimedia or TAM 2007, which will be hosted by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Public Organization) or SIPA to enhance the country’s consistent flow of ICT development policy and readiness for international ICT penetration. Both national events the Bangkok International ICT Expo 2007 and the TAM 2007 will be held during 16-20 November 2007 in the Challenger Halls 2-3, IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, Muang Thong Thani, from 10.00-20.00 hrs. Trade days will be on 16-17 November and Public days will be on 18-20 November. 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