Mr. Secretary General, Mr. Chairman, your excellencies, partners in ITU, good morning.

The Commonwealth of The Bahamas is honoured to be a part of this year's Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 and very delighted to be here in Dubai, quite a phenomenon if I do say so myself. Your hospitality has been first class, we are indeed appreciative recipients.

To-date, The Bahamas has made great progress integrating Information Communication Technologies within our systems as an instrument of national development and diversification.

The Bahamas' Draft National Development Plan, ignites the resolve with which the Government of The Bahamas is working towards developing a Smart Island State, with a view to fostering competitiveness, economic growth, and social inclusion.

Indeed, the extraordinary process of creating a Smart Bahamas provides the drive and needed benchmarks to prepare our communities for the rapid advances in ICT we encounter daily.

We recognize that ICT must be adopted to ensure overall improvement in the quality of life for all citizenry; towards that goal, progress has been made with important e-government initiatives – including a national digital identification system; a skills bank online service to assist citizens in finding employment; and a recently signed agreement to establish network infrastructure connecting all public schools.

In addition, the Office of the Prime Minister has recently embarked on three major projects utilizing ICT which are closely monitored by the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, known as the PMDU.

The PMDU has at its heart:

  • Data analytics for improved government decision-making and planning;
  • The “Community Development Partnership Initiative”; and
  • Government digital transformation to strengthen competitiveness.

Through the Community Development Partnership Initiative, we are:

1. Providing broadband access and strategically placed WIFI hotspots throughout the inner city communities so that citizens can take part in the digital economy and stay connected;

2. Developing apps and websites to provide online presence.

Through the Government digital transformation initiative, we will:

1. See a reduction in time and cost to citizens for government services, especially in the health and business sectors

2. Enhance transparency and integrity in government processes.

Further,

The Government of The Bahamas is actively promoting our second most populated island, Grand Bahama, as a ‘technology hub’ for the region.

We have passed legislation making room for the Commercial Enterprises Act, which encourages ICT and other investments.

The Government has also focused on building our ICT educational opportunities by making ICT courses and certificate programs free of charge to citizens, with primary focus on our youth.

The Bahamas remains committed to the Sustainable Development Goals of the ITU and considers it a privilege to be one of the member states.

We look forward to your support of our candidature for Council, endorsed by CARICOM; we are the smart choice.

Thank you, and The Bahamas wishes you a very successful conference here in beautiful Dubai.