Mr. Chairman, Wonki Min
Secretary General of ITU, Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the people of Ethiopia and my government, I would like to thank the Government and people of the Republic of Korea, and in Particular the people and administration of Busan, for hosting this ITU Plenipotentiary Conference and for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to me and my delegations. I also would like to commend and wish to express my deep appreciations for the excellent work done by the secretariat of ITU in making the necessary preparations for the conference.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
At this juncture, I couldn’t help but proudly remind you a shining history written in Bussan by my fellow Ethiopians 63 years back. I’m proud to be here in Busan where our Military forces first landed under the UN umbrella to shed their blood and sacrifice their precious life in the most challenging period of Korean War. During the war, they were remembered by winning all the battles they were engaged in and now we can testify that their contribution was not in vain. We, Ethiopian delegates are proud in witnessing the miraculous change registered in South Korea.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My Country Ethiopia has been a member of ITU since 1932. Cooperation and partnerships between ITU and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia have lasted 82 years. On top of this we are host of the ITU Regional Office for Africa.
My Government and its Administration will continue to support and cooperate with ITU, and I confirm that we will keep up the historical relationships we have with ITU in transforming our society into information and knowledge based society, and realize the proposed vision of ITU’s Connect 2020 Framework which is "an information society, empowered by the interconnected world, where telecommunication/ICTs enable and accelerate social, economic and environmentally sustainable growth and development for everyone". It is also our sincere desire to see and strive for a strong, and technologically vibrant and economically integrated World.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For nearly a decade including during the current slowdown of global economy, Ethiopia’s economy has recorded double-digit economic growth rate and is one of the fastest growing non-oil exporting economy in the world. In synch to the growing economy, the change in ICT landscape is also moving fast.
With regard to goals and related targets to be achieved by 2020, in coming 5 years Ethiopia aims to foster people’s access to ICT. Mobile penetration will reach 100% from current 30%. Similarly 50% of the household will have fast, broad and reliable internet connectivity. In addition to this, the government will work on addressing the digital divide. Nearly all Rural Kebeles (villages) which have already got basic telecom service will be entitled to benefit from Broadband internet and data services. Schools, Hospitals, Community ICT Centers, Universities and all other social and public service provision centers are also among institutions which received and will continue to receive priorities for broadband services.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Government is also undergoing construction and development of an ICT park on 200 hectare of land in Addis Ababa. The park which is named as Ethio ICT Village is about to start operation. Completion of this park will enhance a strong bond between government and private sector, which is a vital factor for development of ICT sector.
In the perspective of my Country, Telecommunications/ICT Infrastructure and services are regarded to be strategically important to enhance the expansion and penetration of quality education, health services, and market access for small and medium scale enterprises, good governance and efficiency of civil services.
To this effect, since 2007 Ethiopia has been engaged in huge investment of telecommunication Infrastructure Development. Continuing its effort to bridge the digital divide, the government has recently launched a Telecom Expansion Project which covers the entire nation including 4G/LTE service in the Nation’s capital Addis Ababa.
Furthermore, to address issues of universal access more than 13,000 rural localities got access to telecommunication services. With regard to e-government services, the government identified and nearly executed 219 priority services. The progress made in this field has been captured by UN online service ranking in which in a span of few years our ranking has changed from 176th to 74th. However, more remains to be done to close the gap of digital divide during connect 2020.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me raise one of the thorny issues we all know but need to be settled once again in the coming years. Time and again, we have been deliberating about affordability and inclusiveness in view of narrowing the digital divide among countries and within a nation. Compared to other telecom/ICT targets, digital divide achievement has lagged way behind. However, the percentage subscription reports have concealed and will continue to conceal the state of digital divide.
Against his backdrop, I feel that it is time to reflect on what is not working well for the poor people. The current situation should not be allowed to continue by doing business as usual. Achieving affordable and inclusive access and use of ICT will continue to be a moving target unless we rethink and generate special intervention understanding the failure of the contemporary rules of the game. To this end, let’s regularly measure the digital divide of the rural poor in particular by its own right, monitor and assess the challenges, the interventions, and the achievements made along this line.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate ITU and all member states for ITU’s 150th Anniversary we are going to celebrate in the coming year. I also express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciations to Secretary General, Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré for his committed leadership for the last 16 years as Director of Telecommunications Development Bureau and Secretary General of ITU.
I thank you!
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