ECCAS ASSESSES E-COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE

 Luanda – Ministers of Telecommunications and Information Technologies of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) discussed Thursday the consensual action plan for the implementation of electronic communications infrastructure in the region .

The plan will allow the provision of electronic communications services and the integration of infrastructure between governments, states and companies, in addition to strengthening information security and electronic commerce, especially in rural areas.

The virtual meeting appreciated, among other documents, the report of the committee of experts held on the 22nd of this month, which discussed the proposal for giving priority to the projects, the implementation roadmap and the draft declaration on the development of electronic communications infrastructure in the Central Africa.

According to the Angolan minister, Manuel Homem, who was speaking on the sidelines of the event, Africa, in general, and the central region, in particular, has been creating the necessary conditions for the intended development to be carried out in a sustainable manner.

Manuel Homem stated that, in order to be sustainable, investment in infrastructure is crucial, bearing in mind that the objective is to create a strong digital economy capable of allowing greater economic collaboration between countries in the region.

He is of the view that the telecommunications and information technologies have been the lever in technological and industrial evolution.

"The continent must continue to address the improvement of telecommunications infrastructure, a project of the 20/63 agenda of the African Union, which will allow a digital agenda for the continent", he stressed.

Angola, he added, cannot be left out, having already taken significant steps to give and have more access to digital services as such.

The minister pointed out the recent inauguration of the African interconnection project of the single African fiber optic network.

The Heads of State of the ECCAS Government, who met  in January 2020, in Libreville (Gabon), approved an institutional framework for its implementation and the project to strengthen the capacity of Member States, within the framework of broadband and infrastructure. supporting the digital economy.

At the level of the African continent, the implementation of the Central African installations programme entered the second phase with the adoption, in February 2020, of a set of projects that will constitute the priority plan for the development of infrastructure in Africa, for the period 2021/2030.