Following the initial courtesy visit of Mr. Kondo Masanori, Secretary General of APT, to the AIT President on November 15, 2023, AIT received an invitation to attend the 45th Anniversary celebration of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) on July 1, 2024. AIT’s representatives, Professor Attaphongse Taparugssanagorn from the Department of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), School of Engineering and Technology, and Ms. Sirima Sirimattayanan, Senior Program Officer at the Office of International and Public Affairs, attended the event, commemorating APT’s significant milestones and future goals.
Esteemed dignitaries, including Mr. Masanori Kondo, Secretary General of APT, and Ms. Kalaya Chinatiworn, Principal Advisor for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Thailand, and Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity General Assembly, attended event and gave remarks. The ceremony also featured video messages from Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), along with a congratulatory note from Ms. Areewan Haorangsi, the former Secretary General of APT.
The event’s highlight was the unveiling of the new APT website, designed to enhance user experience with improved navigation and a plethora of resources, ensuring the Telecommunity remains well-informed and interconnected. This launch represents APT’s dedication to ongoing enhancement and its vision for future development.
On June 22, 2023, APT in collaboration with AIT, organized the Youth in ICT 2023 event. The objectives of this event were to engage and encourage youth to take an interest in ICT, provide participants with more knowledge about ICT, and introduce various career role models in ICT fields to the youth. Key officials of AIT and APT have been engaging in productive discussions about potential collaborations in different areas.
Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT)
The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) was established through the collaborative efforts of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Founded in February 1979, APT is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to advancing ICT development within the Asia-Pacific region. It comprises 38 member administrations, 4 associate member administrations, and 135 affiliate members from private sector companies and academic institutions involved in the ICT sector.
APT stands as the sole intergovernmental entity focused on ICT in the Asia-Pacific, offering key platforms for policy and regulatory coordination in ICT, as well as representing the region’s interests at international events like the ITU Conferences. It also hosts various capacity-building programs on ICT topics and spearheads pilot projects to further ICT development across the region.
Furthermore, APT establishes sub-regional platforms to support the attainment of shared sub-regional goals. For instance, the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (SATRC), a part of APT, sets up working groups on policy, regulation, and spectrum to promote harmonization among the relevant stakeholders.
