Look’s like Eric Schmidt has the travel bug. First he jetted off to North Korea, and now the Wall Street Journal reports that he’s headed for Myanmar.
Schmidt’s trip will kick off on March 22, and, as the newspaper points out, it will be “the first by a high-level executive from a US technology giant”. As for what he’ll be doing while he’s there, the Journal explains:
“Eric [Schmidt] is visiting several countries in Asia to connect with local partners… who are working to improve the lives of many millions of people across the region by helping them get online,” said Google spokesman Taj Meadows, confirming the visit. Mr. Meadows didn’t go into specifics of Mr. Schmidt’s agenda, but industry experts in Yangon said Mr. Schmidt plans to speak at a public event with local startups, entrepreneurs and students.
Myanmar’s information-technology sector is seen as a potential billion-dollar industry, soon to be boosted by planned advances in telecommunications. Two licenses will shortly be awarded to foreign operators, a step that is expected to improve Internet and mobile networks there.
Will Google revolutionise IT in Myanmar? Probably not. But the visit can’t hurt in getting the ball rolling. [WSJ]