The Government of Seychelles has recognised the fundamental importance of ICT in any policy for stimulation of national development, in particular, modernization and globalisation of the economy, and creating the conditions for the fullest participation by all sections of the population. In this context, the Government has initiated the process of developing a comprehensive National ICT Policy (NICTP). The NICTP set out in this document serves to guide ICT development, accessibility and its utilisation on a national scale to meet the challenges of the information age and will lay the foundation for the development of a comprehensive National ICT Strategic Plan. The NICTP is based on five guiding principles: ICT Infrastructure, Legal and Regulatory Framework, Human Resource Development, ICT Industry and Government. 1.1 Vision The National ICT Policy is aligned to the following vision statement: A Seychelles that will be globally competitive, with a modern ICT enabled economy and a knowledge-based Information Society where strong, efficient and sustainable improvements in social, economic, cultural, good governance and regional integration are achieved through the deployment and effective application of ICT. 1.2 Mission The mission of this policy is to improve the quality of life of Seychellois to the highest attainable levels by ensuring the availability of accessible, universal, affordable, modern and high quality ICT facilities and services within the Seychelles. 1.1 Policy Context ICT is both cross-sectoral and a sector in its own right. This cross-cutting characteristic is one of the main reasons why a coherent, harmonized and over-arching National ICT Policy is needed. Therefore, a National ICT Policy must relate to other relevant sectoral policies. An important precondition in the implementation of the National ICT Policy is that there should be constant and meaningful dialogue between Government and stakeholders. National ITC ICT Policy for Seychelles 2