(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) A new line of Information and Communication Technolgy (ICT), including an infokiosk, will be installed at the CARICOM Secretariat's New Headquarters Building at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, Guyana, by July 30. The ICT installation project is being undertaken by a team of technical experts from TATA Infotech Limited of India, and is in keeping with an earlier commitment by the Government of India to computerise the New Headquarters Building which staff are set to occupy by July 2005.
The TATA Infotech team, which completed feasibilty studies in February, and is now in the process of ordering state-of-the-art hardware and software, unveiled major components of the project before a visiting delegation of Indian Parliamentarians, staff of the Secretariat, and members of the media, on Tuesday 31 May at the Secretariat's New Headquarters Building.
In welcoming the Indian delegation, Deputy Secretary-General of CARICOM, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite said the launch of the project marks the culmination of talks which commenced between CARICOM and India in November 2003. She noted that the talks involved CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington and Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the Hon. K.D. Knight who visited India at the invitation of the Government of India.
Ambassador Applewhaite noted that the highlight of the 2003 visit was the signing of an Agreement between CARICOM and the Government of India, establishing a Standing Joint Commission on Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination, known as the CARICOM/India Joint Commission. She noted too that during the six-day visit, the Indian Government signaled a commitment to assisting with the computerisation of the CARICOM Secretariat's New Headquarters Building.
“The CARICOM counterpart project team has been having a very rewarding experience working with TATA Infotech, which is known worldwide for its expertise in IT, but is working in the Region for the first time,” the Deputy Secretary-General said. She added that staff of the Secretariat look forward to benefiting from the computerisation of the new headquarters, and the transfer of knowledge that will take place under the project.
In brief remarks, Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, His Excellency Avinash Gupta said the ICT project will strengthen CARICOM/India cooperation as well as spread the development and use of ICTs now widely used in India.
Meanwhile, team leader of the ICT project and Deputy General Manager of Education Services at TATA Infotech, Mr Jagtar Singh explained in a brief power point presentation that the infokiosk will form a major part of the new facilties to be installed at the CARICOM Secretariat's New Headquarters Building.
He pointed out that the system will feature a touch screen computer which will offer students, researchers and other interested persons quick information on the activities of the Community. Mr Singh said similar infokiosks would be stalled in all CARICOM Member States, so as to ensure that the people of the Region share common knowledge about the activities and events of the Community.
He pointed out that other major elements of the ICT Project will include the installation of a wireless network, servers, laptops and desktops, which will be protected against security attacks and fully backed by generator power.
