MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE OCCASION OF THE SADC ICT MINISTERS MEETING 8TH NOVEMBER 2012 BALACLAVA, MAURITIUS Held under the theme, Moving SADC Towards the Broadband Ecosystem, the Meeting of SADC Ministers Responsible for Communications and ICT was convened at La Plantation Resort & Spa, Balaclava, Mauritius on 8 November 2012, kindly hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), of Mauritius. The Meeting which was officially opened by Honourable Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum, Minister of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) of the Republic of Mauritius, was attended by Honourable Ministers from SADC Member States. The Meeting viewed an address via video playback by Mr. Brahima Sanou, the Director BDT of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in which he commended the SADC Region for the developments in the SADC ICT Sector and confirmed his commitment to support the ICT for development for the Region. In his remarks delivered on behalf of the SADC Executive Secretary, the Director of Infrastructure and Services, Mr Remigious Makumbe, emphasised that the development of the ICT sector was central to Regional Integration and that efficient and cost effective ICT services can respond to modern business demands based on the commitment to universal service provision and the need to bridge the digital divide. He commended the partnership and the work 1|Page

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