Minister Noel Dempsey Meets His Vietnamese Counterpart To Discuss Future Cooperation In The Telecoms Sector

Mr Noel Dempsey T.D., Minister for Communications Marine and Natural Resources today met with his Vietnamese counterpart, Minister Dr Do Trung Ta in Hanoi to discuss future cooperation between the two countries in the area of telecommunications.

Minister Dempsey is in Hanoi to attend the ASEM ICT Ministerial Meeting which will take place on 30 November.

Both Ministers discussed how their respective countries could work together in the future to exchange information on telecommunications development and capacity building in the electronics and software industries.

Minister Dempsey and Minister Ta discussed the possibility of a delegation of representatives from the Vietnamese Software Association visiting Ireland over the coming months to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Irish Software Association with the aim of sharing information and building links into the future.

Speaking after the meeting today Minister Dempsey said "My meeting today with Minister Ta was very constructive. Ireland is a good example of the positive impact that the ICT industry can have on a small economy.

Internationally Ireland is now considered an example of a country that has moved in a very short space of time to put ICT at the centre of its fast growing economy. Vietnam is currently in the midst of intense change and with this comes opportunity. Many countries, in various stages of ICT development, look to Ireland to learn from our experiences. In this regard we are happy to share our learnings with the Vietnamese authorities."

Note to Editors

Minister Dr Do Trung Ta is the Vietnamese Minister for Post and Telecommunications. The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has devised a national blueprint to invest approximately US 4 billion dollars in ICT development for the period 2002-2010. This funding will be focussed on upgrading the national telecoms infrastructure, improving internet access, expanding the usage of IT technology nationwide and developing human resource capacity for the IT sector.

ENDS