"Just a few weeks ago, (Indian) Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced the Government of India's support for the multi-stakeholder approach at the last Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting," said Catherine A Novelli, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, yesterday.
Addressing a meeting of Internet Governance Forum-USA, Novelli said Prasad stressed the idea that multi-stakeholderism should embrace all geographies and societies.
"I could not agree more with Minister Prasad on this point and we look forward to our continued dialogue with India and others on this important issue," Novelli said.
Noting that over the past few years there has been growth in IGF stature in participants, diversity and in substance, she said this was a very positive development.
Also Read
Observing that Internet offers unprecedented opportunities for economic growth in developing countries, she said of the developing world's 1.4 billion extremely poor people, 70 per cent live in rural areas.
Their lives can be transformed by connecting village schools to the web, bringing telemedicine to far-flung rural health centers, providing accurate weather information to farmers and fisherman and supplying up-to-date market information to producers, Novelli said.
"Internet is a foundational tool for creating shared prosperity. It is as fundamental for economic growth as highways, power grids and ports," Novelli said.