Everyone’s equal access to technology imperative: NA Chair Dahal

KATHMANDU: National Assembly Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal has said development in science and technology had spurred innovation, making human life easier and dynamic.

Addressing the 149th general assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva on Monday, Chairman Dahal underlined the need for formulating and implementing the laws that ensure everyone’s equal access to technology and its benefits.

Transformative capacity of States is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals launched in 2015.

He expressed worry over the widening gap among the countries in the access to and capacity relating to information technology. “Still, over two billion people are deprived of information. Collective efforts are imperative to cope with the challenges posed by inequality. All people need to be guaranteed equal access to IT and innovation,” Dahal underscored.

According to him, world Parliaments which devise laws, could play effective roles to resolve the problems surfaced in the wake of expansion of IT like privacy breach, cyber threat, and spread of propaganda.

For the relatively backward countries, international assistance and cooperation are required to develop and expand IT, research, resource mobilization and youth engagement.

Exchange of best practices of the Parliaments on science and technology across the world could be useful to bridge gaps between the developed and developing countries, he hoped.

He appreciated the Union’s initiative to incorporate artificial intelligence in its action plan by forming a taskforce on science and technology.

“The Union is a significant forum to debate that helps cope with worlds’ burning problems like climate change, natural disaster, geopolitical tension, poverty and inequality,” Dahal observed.