(Left to
right) Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Communications Hassam
Baryali, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in
Kabul Dick Christensen, and USTDA Regional Director for Eurasia
Dan Stein at the fiber optic backbone network grant signing in
August.
The
information and communications technology (ICT) sector plays an
important role in economic development. For example, ICT is an
integral component of transportation systems since they are
dependent on communications and control systems for efficient and
safe operations.
In Eurasia, the
growing recognition of the ICT sector is reflected in several USTDA
funded activities. For example, USTDA approved funding for technical
assistance in Afghanistan to implement a fiber optic backbone
network paralleling the ring road that is under construction to
connect Afghanistan’s largest cities. This USTDA-funded assistance
is a direct result of the participation of Afghan Communications
Minister Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai in USTDA’s South Asia
Communications Infrastructure Conference earlier this year.
In Uzbekistan,
another segment of the ICT sector, e-government, is the subject of
USTDA assistance. The Government of Uzbekistan has developed a
general vision of an overall ICT strategy. A USTDA grant will now
help to establish an implementation plan for that vision.
Development of the ICT sector is also an important element of
USTDA’s program in Iraq. To date, USTDA has approved funding for a
$1 million study on the establishment of a women’s training center
focused on ICT and a $1.3 million “train-the-trainers” program in
the ICT sector. USTDA also recently sponsored an orientation visit
for Iraqi Republic Railways officials to look at U.S.
communications-based train control systems.
Looking ahead,
USTDA anticipates that the ICT sector will remain an important focus
of the agency in Eurasia. A definitional mission to Turkey, for
example, has identified potential areas for USTDA cooperation with
Turk Telecom, the state-owned telephone company.
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