The secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, Zhao Houlin, has lauded Rwanda for its commitment to ICT development as a facilitator of growth and economic development. 

The ITU head, who assumed office in January, was addressing the media, yesterday, after paying a courtesy call on President Paul Kagame at Village Urugwiro while winding up his three-day official visit in the country.

Zhao spoke highly of the country’s commitment to ICT, saying it was evident from the President’s contribution to global ICT promotion efforts as the co-chair of ITU Broadband Commission.

"The President is not new to ITU and ICT as he has been deeply engaged with our affairs.

Despite his heavy schedule, he strongly believes in ICT power to transform society. We are lucky to have him; under his leadership, the Broadband Committee has received a lot of global support,” Zhao said.

The President co-chairs the ITU Broadband Commission with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, one of world’s most successful business owners.

During the recent World Economic Forum in Davos. Switzerland, it was announced that the two chairpersons had agreed to renew their terms as co-chairs.

Zhao said in their hour-long deliberations, they looked into the agenda of promotion of broadband development and small and medium enterprises in Rwanda and beyond. 

"We have a lot of opportunities to use ICT to facilitate Africa’s development,” the ITU chief said.

During his visit, Zhao toured some of the ICT facilities in the country, and said he was impressed by the development in the technology sector, especially its contribution to the GDP and improvement of the general population’s quality of life.

He added that the advancements had increased the nation’s profile as an investment destination for global entrepreneurs which would further increase contribution to GDP.

The Minister for Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, said the visit by the head of the specialised United Nations agency in charge of coordination of development of telecommunications was an indicator of the cordial relations that the country enjoys with ITU.

In 2013, Rwanda and ITU co-hosted the Transform Africa Summit, which saw the birth of Smart Africa Alliance, a platform that is quickly shaping the future of ICT adoption on the continent.

Nsengimana noted that the international body had played an important role in progress achieved adding that the cooperation would persist and deepen for the achievement of more milestones.

Rwanda was the first African country the ITU head visited since assuming office in January.Rwanda, which has been an ITU member since 1962, was recently re-elected as a member state of the Council of ITU for the term 2014-2018.

Among the council’s roles include formulation of policies that are in line with the world’s rapidly changing telecommunication environment and deciding on administrative issues of the organisation.

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