Somalia backs ITU resolution on special assistance

Somali government on Thursday welcomed the adoption of resolutions at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that have direct impact and are of special interest to the Horn of Africa nation.

Abdi Ashur Hassan, minister of Post, Telecom and Technology said the aim of the Reslution 34 is to provide special consideration to Somalia due to the prolonged conflict in the country and provide assistance and support to rebuild and modernize its telecommunication infrastructure.

According to Hassan, the resolution also aims to re-establish well-equipped ministry of telecommunications and establish institutions, develop ICT policy, legislation and regulation, including a numbering plan, spectrum management, and human resource capacity building including other necessary forms of assistance.

“I welcome the adoption of these resolutions by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. They will help us in re-building our ICT infrastructure and make the necessary reforms in the sector that remained unregulated for decades,” he said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

The ITU’s 20th Plenipotentiary Conference ended in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Nov. 16 with Member States reaffirming their commitment to the common vision of a connected world.

According to Hassan, Resolution 34 calls upon member states to take special actions to provide appropriate assistance and support to countries in special need with Somalia being included in these countries.

“In particular, recognizing the Somali situation as special, the Plenipotentiary Conference approved a special resolution for Somalia – Resolution 160 – Assistance to Somalia,” said Hassan.

The minister said Somalia proposed the Resolution 160 and successfully lobbied Arab and African countries in preparatory meetings for the Conference.

“Both Arab and African Regions of the ITU included the resolution to assist Somalia in their common proposals to the Conference,” he said, adding that Mogadishu presented and defended the Resolution gaining unanimous support of all members states.