I want to preface my comments by sharing with you all that I am speaking to you from a continent of approximately 1.4 billion people in the midst of the global covid-19 pandemic. As I speak, much of the core capitalist economies of world systems and many from the semi-periphery, including Brazil, Russia, India and China are preparing their citizens for vaccinations. Africa has neither the vaccines nor the productive capabilities for their production. Whilst we face the gloomy prospect of being left behind or relegated to back of the queue, we all know that none of us is safe from covid-19 until all of us are safe. This sad reflection at this time in our contemporary conjuncture provides a useful segue to the comments I want to offer on the presentations by our colleagues on the electronics sector and the knowledge economy.
I want to emphasise the contextual and historical nature of our developmental experiences. I want to challenge the misstatement that suggests we in the global South missed the first industrial revolution. I would like to raise five main points arising from the presentations by our colleagues. Builds upon the previous pertinent and critical comments already submitted by my fellow eminent panellists. These concerns are: 1) the importance of planning, and development; 2) the essential function of high-quality and ubiquitous public infrastructures; 3) recognising the significance of social shaping of technology and continuously improving the progressive engagement between science and society; 4) redefining and expanding local productive competences within planetary boundaries, and most generally: 5) learning from doing, and doing better through learning.
Firstly, the State of Kerala is universally acclaimed as a strong teacher of developmental praxis. As we now venture further into the 21st Century of our Common Era, skills require nurturing and upgrading to meet the technological advances and economic dynamics that inform world systems in our contemporary conjuncture. We, in the global South, look to Kerala to learn more, and benefit from, the lessons generated in praxis of state capability improvements through planning.
Secondly, high-quality public infrastructures which are universally accessible and ubiquitous perform an essential function in world systems that are in the main, essentially neoliberal, and underpinned by global corruption and the malevolence of private accumulation.
The South African situation stands in stark contrast to the positive depiction of progress in the Kerala-Fibre Optic Network. We must also learn how to better align our propensity for innovation with the mundane yet crucial requirement of maintenance and upgrading of critical public infrastructures.  Have we put in place the necessary apparatuses, equipment, and software interfaces to allow and encourage greater utilisation of high-quality public infrastructures and are these reconciled against our internal demands whilst advancing our possibilities of enabling autonomous sovereign policy and technological choices based on our revealed realities? Establishing and maintaining critical public good infrastructures such as the fibre network of Kerala must be lauded and protected from the predatory and rent-seeking instincts of private entrepreneurship and as well, the stagnancy of bureaucratic state capture which serves to maintain the semblance of power whilst disempowering the masses.
Thirdly, in recognising and acknowledging that technologies result from social shaping, we must consistently seek to expand and improve the progressive engagement between science and society.  
Fourthly, we must embrace a continuous process of defining and redefining our developmental trajectory to keep within the ecologically defined planetary boundaries whilst simultaneously seeking the expansion of domestic productive competences. The comparative advantages of Kerala suggested by our fellow panellists reveal a wealth of capacities, capabilities, and competences forged over a long period of development. As Kerala has been a knowledge economy for most of its existence, ramping up the intensity of knowledge production and utilisation suggests even exploring a circular vision even for the digital ecosystem.
Fifthly, and finally, Kerala's equitable development history need to sustain and advance in the current epoch through more learning from doing, and by the utilisation of knowledge, doing even better through improving our competences for shared learning. History has afforded Kerala the brand value of progressive values and this stands the State in a better position than other brand-labels that are unfortunately marred by their respective exploitative praxis. Our localisation of productive capacities, capabilities, and competences offer many more advantages to Kerala and these also require further attention and support. We are all proud of Kerala and its developmental pathway. As a guiding light to us all in the global South, we look forward to learning more from you and your experiences. Thank you all again for the opportunity to participate in this significant engagement and I wish all the best in advancing a better life for all through ICTs. Thank you