Rwanda targets to attract investors through the upcoming Information Communication Technology (ICT) continental meeting due to take place in Kigali from May 23 and June 4, 2010, in Kigali, a top official has said.

"It will also be an opportunity for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO),” Dr Ignace Gatare, the Minister in the President’s Office in charge of ICT.

The meeting will bring together the African Network Operators’ Group (AFNOG) and the African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC).

"Rwanda is a unique destination for ICT investment, not because we are advanced but because ICT is at the forefront of our economic development,” the Minister said.

This is the 11th AfNOG conference. It will provide a forum for the coordination and dissemination of technical information related to backbone/enterprise networking technologies and operational practices with emphasis on the relevance to current and future African backbone engineering practices, officials said.

Information from AfriNIC indicates that the AfriNIC-12 meeting will provide an excellent opportunity to take part in Internet policy discussions.

The two meetings will involve practical work  to be conducted in Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) with four laboratories prepared for the event.

Gatare said that the meeting will boost Rwanda’s ICT sector through sharing experience with global ICT professional.

Rwanda Information Communication Technology Association (RICTA) is the lead organiser of the meeting in collaboration with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency (RURA).

Geoffrey Kayonga, the CEO of RICTA said participants will be selected from Internet Service providers (ISPs), academic networks, government bodies and telecom companies.

Some of the ICT success stories to be showcased in the meeting include, the national data centre project, Kigali Wireless Broadband (WiBro) Network and the Kigali Metropolitan Network (KMN).

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