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Information and Communications Technology regional ministers have met in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi to assess the progress on infrastructure development projects.

The meeting was on invitation by Eliud Owalo, the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy of Kenya.

ICT minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi, his South Sudanese counterpart Michael Makuei Lueth, and Gordon Kalema, Director General, Digital Transformation from the Ministry of ICT and Innovation of Rwanda attended.

Uganda’s ICT ministry permanent secretary Dr Amina Zawedde, also the technical chair of the ICT infrastructure development cluster chaired the meeting.

The ministers under the Northern Corridor Integration Projects assessed the progress on implementation of regional infrastructure projects including cross-border payment systems, harmonization of roaming rates, and launch of digia tal market across the region and innovative digital platforms to enhance trade across the partner states.

Vincent Waiswa Bagiire, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs permanent secretary remarks.

Vincent Waiswa Bagiire, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs permanent secretary, Ambassador Richard Kabonero, the National Coordinator of the Northern Projects and Amb. Evans P. Aryabaha, the acting Head of Ugathe nda High Commission in Nairobi was part of Uganda’s delegation.

In a joint communique read by Minister Baryomunsi, the ministers acknowledged the achievements so far made, including the operationalisation of One Network Area (ONA) for voice, data, and sms, which has led to over 900 times traffic increase among the Partner States, as well as cross border national backbone connections.

What ministers agreed upon

• The Ministers agreed to fast-track the modalities of establishing a Regional Owned Satellite for communication that will provide high-quality, dependable broadband internet services and broadcasting capabilities.

• On cooperation in Cybersecurity and emerging technologies, the Ministers directed the Technical team to expedite the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cyber Security, in order to address the emerging cyber threats and emerging through collaborative efforts.

ICT minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi read the joint communique.

• The Ministers agreed to fast track the establishment of an East African Single Digital Market that will optimize technological efficiency within Partner States by promoting and supporting start-ups, enabling joint access to capital financing, co-financing research, and others. The Ministers were cognisant that this (EAC block of about 174 Million People) will create a bargaining platform with international tech companies such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.

• They welcomed the progress on the implementation of the e-services across the Region, including data sharing framework, full integration of mobile financial services ,and ensuring mutual access to secure and reliable information.

• The Ministers called for policy interventions that can promote affordability of smart devices.

• The Ministers further called for a harmonised approach to policies that facilitate Data storage and management.

The information and Communications Technology regional ministers met in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi to assess the progress on infrastructure development projects.

• The Ministers further welcomed the progress on cross-border broadband interconnectivity, which enables the land-linked countries to be connected to undersea cables.

• The Ministers commended the Republic of Kenya for convening the Joint Ministerial meeting for the ICT Infrastructure development, and expressed gratitude for the warm reception and hospitality accorded to them and their delegations during the visit. They also commended the Republic of Uganda for Chairing and Coordinating the ICT Infrastructure Development Cluster.

• The Ministers agreed that the next Joint Ministerial Meeting of the ICT Infrastructure Development Cluster will be hosted by the Republic of South Sudan at a date to be communicated.