BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin addressed the Regional Regulatory Roundtable for Europe and Africa, a first in series of roundtables organized by ITU in the lead up to the 21st Global Symposium for Regulators.
The Roundtable was held within the framework of the ITU Regional Initiative for Europe on “Broadband infrastructure, broadcasting, and spectrum management" and the ITU Regional Initiative for Africa on “Building digital economies and fostering innovation in Africa".
In the run-up to the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference, ITU decided to hold a joint Roundtable for Europe and Africa to identify important regional trends and challenges, and discuss opportunities to stimulate greater cross-regional collaboration and partnerships in the field of digital regulation.
Ms Bogdan-Martin noted that Europe and Africa are both very diverse continents, with dramatically varying levels of connectivity between the countries the comprise each region, as well as between urbanized and rural areas. She observed that ''as digital transformation advances across all 90 countries that make up these two regions, common challenges arise when it comes to optimizing regulation to foster thriving markets for digital goods and services. And, as these challenges increasingly span national, and even regional, borders, it makes sense to for us to work together to find common solutions.''
ITU's Global Symposium for Regulators has focused on helping countries optimize their regulatory strategies to drive faster and more inclusive growth in connectivity, for over 20 years. Ms Bogdan-Martin underlined that fit-for-purpose regulation can play a critical role in unlocking investment and contributing to overall economic growth. She pointed to PRIDA— the Policy and Regulation Initiative for Digital Africa – as a prime example of important and successful work carried out jointly by the African Union, the European Commission, and ITU.
''Building stronger digital connections between our two continents is a win-win strategy that will drive growth, boost resiliency, improve livelihoods, and help us deliver on the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda,'' encouraged Ms Bogdan-Martin.
