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Volume 11, Issue 3 - Summer Edition 2004

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Fostering Development Through   Information and Communications Technology in Eurasia

In early 2004, USTDA sponsored an orientation visit for Iraqi rail officials led

(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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