Information and communications technologies for sustainable development A/RES/74/197 13. Welcomes the holding of the third session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on e-Commerce and the Digital Economy, its report 11 and the establishment of a working group on measuring e-commerce and the digital economy in 2018; 12 14. Also welcomes the holding of the first Africa e-Commerce Week, from 10 to 14 December 2018, in Nairobi, and e-Commerce Week, from 1 to 5 April 2019, with the theme “From digitalization to development”, and looks forward to the first Asia e-Commerce Week, to be held in the United Arab Emirates in 2020; 15. Further welcomes the work of the Information for All Programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which aims to assist Member States in formulating policies to bridge digital divides and ensure equitable knowledge societies, and also welcomes the holding of Global Media and Information Literacy Week from 24 to 31 October 2019; 16. Recognizes that, despite recent progress and significant gains, there is still uneven growth in access to and the use of information and communications technologies, and expresses concern over the substantial continued digital and broadband divides between and within developed and developing countries, including the fact that there are 122 mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 people in developed countries, compared with 75 in developing countries and 33 in the least developed countries, and that the cost of access is higher in developing countries in relation to average household income, resulting in a lack of affordable access to information and communications technologies; 17. Also recognizes the importance of broadband access to all developing countries, and calls upon all stakeholders, including the international community, to support further actions, including investment, to improve broadband access and connectivity in these countries; 18. Further recognizes the importance of broadband connectivity to users in rural and remote areas, and in this regard notes that small and non -profit community operators, as appropriate and among others, can provide these services through, inter alia, appropriate regulatory measures that allow the m to gain access to basic infrastructure; 19. Encourages research and development, and the development of viable strategies that could result in further competitiveness, investment and rapid reductions in the cost of information and communications technol ogies, and urges all relevant stakeholders to address the growing digital divides between and within countries through, inter alia, strengthened enabling policy environments at all levels, legal and regulatory frameworks conducive to increased investment a nd innovation, public-private partnerships, universal access strategies and international cooperation to improve affordability, education, capacity-building, multilingualism, cultural preservation, investment and technology transfer on mutually agreed term s; 20. Recognizes that a gender digital divide persists and that the proportion of women using the Internet is 17 per cent lower than that of men worldwide and 43 per cent lower in the least developed countries, notes with concern that, while the gender digital divide has narrowed in many regions since 2013, it has widened overall, in particular in the least developed countries and in Africa, in this regard calls upon all stakeholders to ensure the full participation of women in the information society an d women’s access to information and communications technologies for development, including new technologies, in this respect reiterates its request for relevant United __________________ 11 12 8/12 TD/B/EDE/3/3. See TD/B/EDE/1/3, chap. I, para. 12. 19-22407