The Prime Minister, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, opened the first International ICT/BPO Conference and Networking Forum hosted by Mauritius this morning at Le Meridien Hotel, Pointe aux Piments, in the presence of the Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Mr T. Pillay Chedumbrum, and the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys BPO, Mr Swami Swaminathan.
The two-day event is organised by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology in collaboration with the ICT Industry. It brings together some 200 participants from the global community of ICT/BPO stakeholders including leaders like Gartner, AT Kearney, the World Economic Forum, and high profile delegations from Europe, Asia, USA and Africa. The main objectives of the conference are to showcase Mauritius as a leading ICT/BPO hub and a preferred ICT Centre of Excellence with its achievements and capabilities in the ICT sector, and to serve as a strong marketing tool to position Mauritius in new markets.
In his opening address, the Prime Minister stated that Mauritius has the potential to be a global player in the ICT-BPO sector. He said that the holding of such a timely and promising event is one of the many initiatives undertaken by Government in its ambition to put Mauritius in the forefront of development and position the country in a leading role in the ICT sector in the region.
The Prime Minister added that Government has factored in all the key elements to achieve its vision of making the ICT sector a strong pillar of the economy. Among these elements are the decrease in international connectivity costs for leased lines, the operation of two submarine cable stations that provide the country with highly competitive access to the world, the provision of optical fibre connectivity to the business community and government, the setting up of the ICT Academy to cater to the manpower needs of the industry and the creation of clusters and technology parks. The country can also boast of political stability, institutions, rule of law, protection of investors, modern regulatory framework coupled with constant reviewing of Intellectual Property Protection, Data Protection, Internet Governance, ICT policies, labour policies and cyber security mechanisms.
Moreover, Dr Ramgoolam expressed his determination to increase the ICT penetration rate and encourage the use of ICT and internet in all parts of Mauritius. He announced a revolution in telecommunications in the country with the realisation of the Fibre to Home Project. The Prime Minister added that the smart identity card project together with the e-judiciary project will soon become a reality, pushing the country ahead towards the vision of transforming Mauritius into a cyber island.
For his part, the Minister of Information and Communication Technology said that the conference comes at a time when the ICT sector has recently been recognised as the third pillar of the Mauritian economy growing by around 14% on average for the past 5 years. The ICT sector today represents 6.8% of GDP with more than 500 companies operating in the sector and a workforce of 15,000.
Mr Pillay Chedumbrum said that the National Broadband Policy, which spells out the strategic vision for an Intelligent Mauritius and establishes national goals in line with the short- and long-term national objectives within the context of a new Mauritian broadband ecosystem, will be finalised in the week to come. He added that to stimulate further competition, Government has instituted an open access policy in relation to access to international undersea cable allowing competitors of the incumbent operators to offer international IP classes of services at up to 44% lower rates. He also announced the coming into operation of LION2 and the future operation of a third Optic Fiber Cable providing not only redundancy but also route diversity in terms of international connectivity.
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