In a recently Asian-Oceanian IT Minister/ASOCIO Dialogue, ministers responsible for information and communication technology and senior government officials from fourteen economies together with ICT business representatives representing the industry from twenty economies of the Asian-Oceanian region agreed to explore the regional collaborations among countries in the Asian-Oceanian region as following:

1. Promotion of IT trade and services through open and competitive market. Both government and industry acknowledged that the open market allows the industry to grow efficiently across borders, promoting the latest skills and technologies in IT. Enhanced competition in the region will lead to improvements in the quality of ICT goods and services. Further openness in trade and ICT services should be encouraged.
   
   
2. Joint public and private sector programs and projects. Joint programs and projects allow both public and private sectors to develop the industry and contribute to the economy with more efficiency. There are immense opportunities for co-operation and encourages concerted efforts by government to engage in joint programs and projects with the private sector.
   
   
3. “Connected Asia” Initiatives.
   a) Develop and nurture world class IT talents
   b) Combine innovative minds to produce world class thought leadership
   c) Create and reinforce a sustainable investment climate
   d) Link member economies with sophisticated technology and high-speed connectivity
   e) Channel for the flow of goods and services.
   
   
4. Harmonization of regional e-Government. Harmonization of policies, laws, collaboration among regional government pertaining to e-government is seen as being necessary to facilitate cross-border business transactions. One possible application is the use of smart cards as a common recognition identification replacing passports for easier borders entry. In general, laws, security, health, education and other basic services are keys to social and economic prosperity. Harmonization based on cross regional agreements on principles that lead to stable and predictable governance is desirable.

It is no doubt that the ICT industry is a global industry, products and services compete on the global stage; and the Asia-Oceania region is the fastest growing region. It is important that ICT companies are able to influence their environment within this region. ASOCIO is obviously the right vehicle in achieving this. For ASOCIO to exhibit credibility as a player for shaping ICT policy and application in the region there is a requirement for ASOCIO to lead public policy in the region. The past many years, ASOCIO has made some real achievements on the public policy front, however there are still other important issues waiting to challenge us. All members of ASOCIO will work harder to input into policy issues effecting ICT products and services within the region.