Recognizing that states have the sovereign right to regulate their own telecommunications sectors and that affordable and universal access to new information and communications technologies is an important means to raise the living standards of our citizens and reduce the divide between rural and urban populations, and between countries; noting the importance of increasing cooperation with the private sector to further modernize and expand our telecommunications sectors; acknowledging and reaffirming our efforts in and dedication to market opening and increasing free, fair and equitable competition in all telecommunications services, while respecting the regulatory framework of each country, in order to attract investment needed to develop infrastructure and to reduce the cost of service; stressing the importance of adopting policies to protect the interests of users and enhance the quality, efficiency, coverage and diversity of services, all based on respect for user privacy; and bearing in mind the social, political, economic, commercial and cultural needs of our populations, in particular those of less developed communities:

• Propose measures designed to modernize national laws, as appropriate, based on principles such as: permanence of strong and independent regulatory bodies; a pro-competitive approach, including the adoption of rules on dominant operators; a flexible regulatory framework consistent with technological convergence, and to develop human and institutional capacity in support of these principles;

• Facilitate the upgrading of human resources in the telecommunications sector through ongoing training programs on telecommunications policy, regulation, management and technology, and request the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), in coordination with national agencies, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s Centre of Excellence for the Americas, and in partnership with regional and subregional organizations and the private sector, to create a focal point for information on human resource development programs to foster exchanges of information on relevant training programs among governments, universities, industry associations and the private sector, in order to assist countries of the Americas in meeting the growing need for trained and competent personnel in the rapidly changing knowledge-based economy;

• Take measures striving to implement the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for Conformity Assessment developed by CITEL without prejudice to each participant`s sovereign right to regulate its own telecommunications sector, and encourage discussion of adequate standards to ensure interoperability for existing and future telecommunications networks and the timely introduction of technology in new and existing markets, taking into account the regulations and recommendations of the ITU and other appropriate standard-setting bodies;

• Support the convening of the ITU World Summit on the Information Society to be held in 2003, which will focus on the use of information and communications technologies for social and economic development;

• Recommend that our national bodies work within CITEL to prepare guidelines on Universal Service, based on principles to be developed by CITEL and develop a clear definition of the responsibilities of governments and private entities;

• Instruct, as appropriate, our telecommunications authorities and our relevant regulatory bodies, working within our regional and sub-regional agencies and organizations to develop and implement before the next Summit of the Americas a cooperative and collaborative program to support a connectivity agenda for the Hemisphere;

• Encourage increased competitiveness and productivity of all sectors through applications such as distance education and tele-health and promote the creation of domestic activities dedicated to the generation of Internet-based industries;

• Request ministries or departments responsible for telecommunications and appropriate regulatory bodies to cooperate, within CITEL, in order to clarify and simplify rules governing the provision of satellite services in our countries, and work to complete the development of a Hemispheric Web site including each country’s requirements and forms of application for licensing to provide satellite-based telecommunications services;

• Promote the modernization and expansion of telecommunications infrastructure in rural and urban areas through timely introduction of new technologies and services, in particular broadband technologies, the adoption of new standards on telecasting, Web casting, and Internet Protocol (IP), paying particular attention to spectrum management, interconnection policies, appropriate pace of development and emergency communications;

• Address voluntary funding for the implementation of CITEL's additional mandates set out in this Plan of Action;

Recognizing that environmentally sound, safe, and efficient transportation systems, including multi-modal corridors, are essential to the quality of the daily lives of the people of the Americas as well as to trade in goods and services among our countries; and reaffirming our support for the ongoing efforts of our Ministers responsible for transportation, through the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative (WHTI), to increase the integration of our transportation systems and practices:

• Endorse the areas for cooperation identified at the Ministers' meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in March 2001;

• Promote and facilitate increased cooperation, convergence and information-sharing in the transportation-related activities of the five subregions of the Hemisphere and with multilateral organizations, with a view to furthering the development of human and institutional capacity and ensuring the environmental sustainability of transportation systems and infrastructure; to this end, request that the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) continues to provide its valuable support to the WHTI;

• Improve human resources development programs by encouraging exchanges of personnel among the countries and institutions of the region, as well as the development of, and participation in, transportation-related training programs and the dissemination of information regarding these programs by way of the WHTI's Web site and by other means;

• Emphasize the need to develop proper infrastructure and high safety standards as a principal priority for the WHTI's work program, while recognizing the importance of human and institutional capacity development in ensuring the safety of transportation services;

• Actively and collectively encourage international maritime and air carriers to fully comply with International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards of safety governing the transport of dangerous goods including nuclear, hazardous and noxious substances and waste and stress the importance of having effective liability mechanisms in place;

• Actively and collectively encourage international maritime carriers, in particular cruise ships, to comply with IMO standards in relation to the protection of the marine environment, and to take full account of the special area status of the wider Caribbean;

• Acknowledging the concerns of some states about the transport of radioactive material, including waste, through routes close to the coasts of states or along navigable waterways of the Hemisphere and the potential health consequences for our people and the possible threat to the marine environment, and consistent with maritime rights and obligations in international law; encourage and support full compliance with existing IMO and IAEA conventions, standards and codes of practice and stress the importance of having effective liability mechanisms in place; encourage the consideration by the IAEA and the IMO and other competent international bodies to strengthen additional international measures, as necessary, which may include: the assurance of non-contamination of the marine environment; the recovery of radioactive material, including waste, in the case of accidental release; the provision of relief, rehabilitation or reconstruction, as appropriate, for affected people in the case of an accident; and invite countries shipping radioactive material, including waste, to provide timely information to potentially affected states in the Hemisphere relating to such shipments, consistent with the need to maintain and ensure the safety and security of those shipments;

• Instruct our Ministers of Transportation to explore the possibility of discussing the modernization of air services in order to meet the growing flow of people and goods that has been taking place in the Hemisphere;

Recognize that in pursuing the regional integration of energy markets, issues such as market reform and stability, regulatory reform and trade liberalization will be addressed; support and endorse the Hemispheric Energy Initiative which promotes policies and practices to advance such integration;