Located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Malta in two straight days provided the setting for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (GHOGM). Beginning last Friday the Heads of government meeting brought Foreign Ministers to the core of discussions. The Ministers looked at issues such as trade, information and communication technology (ICT), terrorism, good governance and the challenges faced by small states. Speaking at a news conference before the summit, Malta's Prime Minister Dr. Lawrence Gonzi expressed the hope that CHOGM will produce a programme of action for the coming years which will promote development for all Commonwealth countries. In the resolve to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, nations should work together through their diversity to transform strategies into opportunities. The Malta meeting, amongst other things, specifically targetted the bridging of the digital divide. The rapid growth of what is now known as the "information society", requires global discussion and solidarity if the gulf between the developed north and the developing South has to be narrowed.

Beyond the confines of the Commonwealth however, a lot is already being done to encourage digital solidarity. The information society is said to have produced a tantalizing array of new information and communication technologies that today have transformed the approach to global development. Access to these technologies is spreading rapidly and by some estimates, more than seventy five per cent of the world's population now lives within range of a mobile network. Yet, the long-heralded promise of information and communication technologies remain out of reach for most of the developing world for the information poor, economic and social gaps are rather widening both within and between countries. To capture the promise of the new information and communication technologies (ICT) for all, the United Nations called for a World Summit on the information society (WSIS). The two phased summit began in Geneva two years ago and concluded a fortnight ago in Tunis, has as objective to assess progress of global action for digital solidarity.

In his address to participants in Tunis recently in UN Chief Scribe Koffi Annan said the information and communication technologies "must generate new momentum towards developing the economies and societies of poor countries, and transforming the lives of poor people". He stressed the need to give all citizens of the world access to tools and technologies they need, with the education and training to use them effectively. Digital solidarity in other words involves bringing down the costs of connectivity, computers and mobile telephones, making them universally affordable and accessible. To bridge the digital divide all stakeholders have to get down to the specifics of expanding digital opportunities. In Africa and other developing countries, as the UN SG insisted, the opportunities are immense. The rapid spread of mobile and wireless telecommunication has spurred entrepreneurship and engineered small businesses to take root. However, the needs of the ordinary citizens of the developing world are more basic and down to earth. Three square meals a day, roads, water, electricity and health remain top priorities in most of the developing world. Before providing information and communication technologies, it is necessary to firstly make available the aforementioned basic necessities for a decent livelihood.