cajnewsafrica
Friday September 7, 2018
The Somali delegation touring Huawei’s Executive Briefing Centre in Beijing, China
from SAAD MUSE in Mogadishu, Somalia
MOGADISHU, (CAJ News) – CHINESE Technology firm, Huawei, aims to fulfil the potential of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to drive Somalia’s socio-economic development.
Executives said this would lay a solid foundation for the East African country’s growth.
The pledge by Huawei came at the just-concluded Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in China where Somalia President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo visited Huawei’s Beijing Executive Briefing Centre.
He met Yi Xiang, Senior Vice President at Huawei.
Farmajo anticipated Huawei to contribute to a digitalised Somalia as well as the company’s active involvement in construction of Somalia by leveraging the power of ICT, to contribute to economic and social development.
He said the development of Somalia had the inherent advantages of strategic location and vast untapped resources.
Somalia has developed rapidly in the past few years and has attracted more Somalis living overseas to return to work and live.
“ICT will play a bigger role in areas such as increased investment attractiveness and improvement of people’s lives,” the president said.
Yi Xiang said Huawei had been working on ICT infrastructure in Somalia for some years, building more connectivity between Somali people and between Somalia and the world.
Guided by Somalia’s National Development Plan for 2017 to 2019, Huawei will put its combination of Somalia’s requirements and its advantages in resources, expertise, experience and cases accumulated over the years in ICT field, the executive said.
Meanwhile, Huawei has pledged to roll out an ICT talents training programme to 30 Somalis for the next three years.
The company has been developing communications infrastructure in Somalia since it entered the market in 2004.
Working with local operators, Huawei built the country’s 3G, 4G, and 4.5G networks, and worked with carriers in providing the first mobile data services to Somalia.