Geneva - Cuban Deputy Minister of Communications, Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal, has defended in Geneva that the benefits of new technologies should be available to all citizens in the world, diplomatic sources said today.

Speaking in the high-level segment of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum, the Cuban representative particularly referred to information and communication technologies (ICT).

'Cyberspace and the access to the Internet should be considered as strategic resources and common goods of the whole humanity,' he said, after recalling that developing countries are still facing obstacles in accessing them for issues such as insufficient infrastructure.

Technology is not neutral and it always responds to the interests of those who own and apply it, he stated.

The deputy minister referred to phenomena that generate concern, such as cyberattacks, the potential militarization of the cyberspace and the increase in the illigal use of ICTs to subvert the sovereignly determined constitutional order in each country.

Referring to Cuba, Gonzalez Vidal explained that despite the country's financial constraints and the economic, financial and technological blockade the United States government has maintained, the progress continues in the establishment and strengthening of the technological infrastructure.

'The Cuban government has carried out great efforts for the development of ICT, giving priority to its use in education, health, scientific and cultural development, and as a means to increase productivity and economic growth,' he said.

The World Forum began Monday, June 12th, in this city and will run until Friday, June 16th, with the participation of many international delegations.

The Cuban delegation is headed by the deputy minister and made up of delegates from entities such as Infomed, Cinesoft, Cubarte, UCI and the Cuban Information Technology Union.