The Regional Representative of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Jean-Jacques Massima, has announced that a developed ICT sector in Africa will heavily boost the region’s chances of achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Massima made the remarks while addressing participants who attended the ITU Optical Fibre Tutorial, a training seminar held in the Northern Province.

The two-week tutorial was opened by the Minister in the Office of the President in Charge of ICT, Ignace Gatare, and attracted over forty participants from the central African region as well as several ICT experts.

Addressing the participants, Massima said that various national broadband networks are in the pipeline while others are already under implementation within the central African region to facilitate the region’s economic growth and development.

"The ambitious ITU programme, "Connect Africa” launched in Kigali by President Paul Kagame, was the starting point to build on a strong global broadband infrastructure on the continent,” Massima said.

"Such and more initiatives will help the region to be ready, and in due time favourably compete with the global economy and share benefits from global connectivity.”

He added that ITU is currently organizing a special tutorial on Optical Communications based on the ITU-T handbook Optical fibres, cables and systems, which will improve the skills of regional experts in handling equipment and managing programs.

A statement from the Ministry of ICT revealed that the tutorial will give participants a better understanding of optical fibre standards, help them design and implement projects, and teach them how to make the best choices when defining the various elements of an optical link.

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