Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has delivered a high level statement on behalf of the Government of Ghana at the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Giving her statement, Honourable Owusu-Ekuful said Ghana, under the leadership of the President, was pursuing the Digital Ghana Agenda for a massive transformation of country’s economy through technology and broadband development, stressing on the fact that the President, as the Co-Chair of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocacy Group was a form advocate for the utilisation of the technology for the realisation of all the SDGs.
The Minister further said that Ghana was working actively towards improving the efficiency of service delivery with particular attention to rural and underserved communities, women and gender parity and opportunities for the youth, and went on to list various ICT initiatives which the Government had implemented since 2017. She said, to encourage adoption of these ICT initiatives and to protect users, the Government was also committed to promoting safe Cyber hygiene practices with the establishment of a National Cyber Security Secretariat and an equally strong focus on Child Online Protection.
Honourable Owusu-Ekuful joined other Heads of Delegations who delivered High Level Statements expressing their country’s ICTs achievements and their previous and future contributions regarding the use of ICTs in advancing developments.
In soliciting support for Ghana’s re-election to the ITU Council, she went on further to inform delegates that Ghana was an active member of the ITU and the Council and was fully committed to the decisions of the 2018 Session of Council. Honourable Owusu-Ekuful reiterated Ghana’s commitment to supporting ITU’s strategic plan and was hopeful that increased partnerships and investment would help to bridge the digital divide.
Before ending her statement, Honourable Owusu-Ekuful, paid tribute to the Government and people of Indonesia for the unfortunate air disaster which claimed the lives of over 100 passengers.
The Plenipotentiary Conference is the highest decision-making body of ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for ICTs. Held every four years, the Conference is the key event at which ITU Member States build consensus on key international ICT issues, elect leaders for the Union’s top posts, and decide on a roadmap for ITU’s work over the next four-year period, including strategic and financial plans.
The Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, joined the ITU Secretary-General, Mr. Houlin Zhao in welcoming international delegates for three weeks of intensive decision-making on the future of global ICT.