Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Mr.Karim Bibi Triki has chaired on November 11-12 in Algiers, the opening of the ITU regional workshop organized, under the aegis of his ministry, by Algérie Télécom jointly with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (Arab regional office) under the theme « Towards universal and meaningful connectivity for Arab region ».
This two-day workshop on November 11-12, was attended by High Commissioner for Digitalization with the rank of Minister, Mrs. Meriem Benmouloud, Minister of Knowledge Economy, Start-ups and Micro-Enterprises, Mr. Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid in addition to high officials from national institutions, directors of telecoms operators and Director of Regional Office for the Arab States, Mr. Adel Darwish and representatives of Arab States.
The workshop comprises, beside the presentations of Algerian and foreign experts, theme-based workshops and round tables run by experts in this industry about relevant issues such as the development of the ICTs infrastructures in Algeria and the Arab region, the modalties of solutions development to link citizens who are not yet covered with the internet, the multilateral approaches to accelerate the joint deployment and sharing of infrastructures.
It is worth mentioning the experts and specialists will strive to share the know-how in order to reinforce the efforts aiming at extending access to sustainable communication services at reasonable prices in low-coverage regions.
In his address, the minister underlined that Algeria reflects, through this great event, its assets likely to enable it to play an important role regionally and internationally in terms of competitiveness, thanks to the strong political impetus provided by the President of the Republic who puts the widespread use of new communication technologies and the digitalization of governmental services on top of the priorities of his ambitious programme for the economic revival.
Besides, the minister said for Algeria, technology is meaningless if it is not accessible to all whatever their social status and location may be. Indeed, the achievements carried out by our country in terms of connection to the fiber optic and the widespread access to households, individuals and companies to fixed and mobile internet, are a tangible proof of our orientation.
The minister said in conclusion that he aspires that this key regional workshop would be an opportunity for the participating experts to share their know-how, ideas and visions while being inspired of the Algerian experience as regards the widespread use of the ICTs and its positive impact on the development dynamic.
In his opening speech, Director of Regional Office for the Arab States, Mr. Adel Darwish expressed his satisfaction for organizing such an event in Algeria and praised the remarkable achievements undertaken by Algeria in terms of infrastructures through inclusive connectivity by over 85% of its population, in a bid to attain sustainable development.
Furthermore, he focosed on the workshop’s goals, at their top the examination of the ways to implement universal connectivity which is a strategic goal for the ITU. He added the utmost goal consists in reaching the meaningful use thanks to its advantages that provide a safe, satisfactory and valuable experience at reasonable costs, while enabling all citizens and communities to benefit from education, health and socio-economic opportunities.
The universal and meaningful connectivity requires to unify the efforts of governments, private sector as well as those of international organizations so as to invest in the infrastructure and reinforce digital knowledge.