Minister of Communication, Science and Technology Mohamed Maleeh Jamal has stated the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the importance of a digital economy.
Speaking at the Ministerial Round Table of World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Minister Maleeh said digital transformation of public services needs to be prioritised when rebuilding the country following the COVID-19 pandemic. The minister said a digital economy is crucial to achieving the sustainable development goals. In this regard, he said urgent solutions are needed to overcome the challenges faced in digital transformation, including the quality of network coverage, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) legal framework and diversity of submarine cables.
Speaking further, the minister noted the Maldives is ahead of neigbouring countries in South Asia in the ICT Development Index, despite the many challenges faced by the country. He said important efforts have been undertaken in the Maldives over the years with regards to ICT development, such as the migration from international gateway satellites to submarine cables, and the introduction of 3G internet and ADSL broadband services. He noted most of the connectivity issues faced by small islands 10 years ago have now been resolved.
During the WSIS round table meeting, discussions were held on establishing an ICT atmosphere and on reducing the broadband divide of countries. Discussions were also held on ways to increase sustainable development of the ICT sector and strategies which need to be implemented at policy level.
The virtual meeting was attended by ministers and deputy ministers of information technology across different countries. The meeting was chaired by Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Houlin Zhao.