It is an honor to give the chiefs of delegation and all the high-level representatives a warm welcome to El Salvador for the "Second Ministerial Conference on the Information Society eLAC2007".

El Salvador recognizes the importance of the Information and Communication Technologies for our social and economic development. In the same way, we acknowledge that if we take advantage of the technological tools offered by globalization, we could generate a quality leap to become a highly informed and connected Information Society.

Accordingly, in El Salvador's Government Plan, the activities coordinated between the government and the private and the academic sectors resulted in the creation of the National Commission for the Information Society, which aims to place effectively our country in a globalized and interconnected world.

As part of this coordinated endeavor, our government launched the Program e-País, which is an initiative that strives to gather all citizens' views regarding the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The objective is to bring about a society and economy in El Salvador, based on information and knowledge, with a wide participation of the governmental, private and academic sectors.

We are aware that ICT are the prime motor of innovation in the world and drive the dramatic changes in productivity that humankind has experienced. As soon as societies fully develop the competence to use technology in innovative ways, we are more likely to achieve greater prosperity and development.

In order to advance in the use of Information and Communication Technologies, in comparison with the usage done during the last ten years, the Latin American and Caribbean countries have taken into consideration the principles derived from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). In that sense, we have made important progress in education, training of professionals, protection of the environment, modernization of the State, economic development, regional integration, and new methods for knowledge transfer, among many other things.

In spite of that progress, some challenges remain. The reduction of the digital gap in regards to developed countries and the improvement of information sharing within our own societies are, so far, the most important tasks ahead. Thus, motivated by the interest to respond to the specific traits of the region, we have worked strategically with Latin American and Caribbean countries to implement national projects to construct together an Information Society centered in improving the standard of living of our people as well as to promote the access to information for all individuals. These are prior requirements to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals and foster social, economic and cultural development.

One of the objectives of this hemispheric encounter is, as all countries present their national reports, to evaluate the application of the Plan of Action in regards to the targets set by the Information Society of Latin America and the Caribbean eLAC2007. This Plan of Action is based on the achievement of thirty goals in different areas, such as community centers, online libraries and schools, online health centers, alternate technologies, investigation and education networks, internet governance, e-government, e-justice, environmental protection, and others. The goals of eLAC2007 create a link between the worldwide targets in digital development and the regional needs, by promoting new ways of dialogue and communication between people and government, while searching for tangible effects and technological solutions to real problems.

In follow up to the national reports presented, I encourage you to work with a true spirit of integration on the second aim for this event, namely to define the future priorities of the region and formulate the Plan of Action eLAC2010. I recognize that it is an enormous challenge, but with your experience in these and other issues, I am sure the outcome will be valuable. After all, this is how we will actively participate in an Information Society, not only as technology users, but also as dynamic agents of change for the social and economic development of Latin America and the Caribbean.

I would like to thank you in advance for your commitment and, once again, give you the utmost welcome to El Salvador.

Thank you and may God bless us all.