UN General Assembly
2000

In this new millennium, the new information technology must be made accessible and affordable to the people living in the most remote areas of the developing nations in order to facilitate their access to better education, better health services and give them greater access to world markets and business opportunities. This is a great challenge, but one that we must face together, and proudly. That is why we have the United Nations. Last month the national Parliament of Vanuatu passed two laws in this area — the Electronic Transactions Act and the E-Business Act. We hope that, through the support of relevant United Nations agencies and bilateral development partners, we will be able to fully implement these new laws for the benefit of our small island nation and its people, in particular in the rural and remote areas. In his statement to the Millennium Summit, my Prime Minister highlighted the need for the industrialized countries immediately to ratify international treaties on the protection and sustainable management of our natural environment and resources,