Set among the many highlights of the US President's visit, the signing by Mr Clinton and Mr Ahern of a joint communique on Internet-based electronic commerce may seem a modest event. But this was a signing with a major difference because, for the first time between the representatives of two nations, the communique was sealed with digital signatures. While the communique itself contained some important references on co-operation in developing electronic commerce, the method of signing and what the President said in his speech were of much more significance.
Digital signatures are seen by many as the key to a thriving future online. They are an essential component of electronic commerce, allowing those buying and selling to have confidence in the transaction and in the identify of the party on the other side of the deal.
That the US president, Mr Clinton, signs a document in this way is a clear signal to the international marketplace that the US administration believes the forecasts which say that this form of commerce is set to mushroom over the next few years. As the President pointed out in his speech at the Gateway 2000 factory in Coolock yesterday, the numbers using the Internet worldwide have risen from 3 million three years ago to 120 million today and will be over 1 billion some time in the next decade. This development, in his words, is "going to dramatically change the way we work and live".
That he signed the document in Ireland - and went to the trouble to congratulate Baltimore Technologies, the Irish company whose software was used for the signing - is a significant endorsement of the US belief that Ireland can be a player in this new global marketplace. It would be impossible to buy the kind of positive publicity which will flow to Ireland from the US President saying that Ireland can become "a natural gateway" for the exchange of telecommunications information between the US and Europe and is now seen as a major software exporter, second only to the US itself.
Ireland had been at risk of being left behind in the digital revolution. For years the telecommunications market here operated as a protected monopoly, while the rest of the world was liberalising. A short-sighted decision was made some years ago that Ireland should seek a derogation, when the rest of the EU decided that their markets should be opened from last January.
Over the past year, major changes have taken place. The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, correctly decided to bring forward the date for open competition in the Irish market to the end of this year. She also took the imaginative decision to establish a new telecommunications advisory committee, comprising some of the biggest names in the industry worldwide. And the Government is now considering how to entice new investment into building crucial infrastructure and trying to put in place an environment in which the industry can prosper.
Much remains to be done, but at least the Government has now realised the potential in this area and is plotting a path to the digital future. The support from the US has the potential to be a key point of advantage for us in the years ahead, as we strive to position Ireland as an important player in this fast-moving industry.