Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Huawei ICT Talent Cultivation Programme, namely the DigiTalent Programme, designed to train some 1,000 people, namely ICT graduates, professionals, and the general public in various technological areas, was launched, this morning, at the Hennessy Park Hotel, Ebène.
The President of the Republic, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun; the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Mauritius, Mr Liying Zhu; and the Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Mauritius Office, Mr Zheng Kui, were present.
In his keynote address, President Roopun commended Huawei Mauritius for the initiative adding that the programme will contribute in building an ICT talent pool which will increase
their employability.
He also encouraged such collaborative work between the
private and public sectors and the civil society to empower the next generation of talent not only in the digital era, but also in emerging sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security and the renewable energy industry.
He recalled how the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an inevitable surge in the use of digital technologies, be it in our daily life, social or economic activity.
This so called new normal has compelled us to continue engaging in digital innovations and embrace the latest technological practices and upskilling in this sector is thus crucial for our future development, he observed.
He expressed satisfaction that Mauritius has been proactive while highlighting that during the last two decades, major investments had been made to provide the country with a world class technology infrastructure.
He also indicated that the ICT sector has positioned itself as the 3rd pillar of the economy and represents 7% of our GDP. He further added that Mauritius is fully fibred since December 2017 while mobile connectivity has almost reached 100% coverage.
Furthermore, President Roopun enumerated the various digital strategies and policies devised by the Government to encourage the sustainable use of ICT as a means to keep pace with the expanding global economy.
They include: the enhancement of e-Services on Government Portal; e-services on the InfoHighway data sharing platform; the introduction of the MauPass identifier for secure access to Government online services; and the setting up of the MauSign Certification Authority for authenticating and avoiding tampering of transactions online.
He recalled that in March this year, a 3rd submarine cable, the METISS, came into operation and added that a 4th submarine cable will be made operational by 2022-2023 to further enhance the resilience of our international connectivity.
Other measures include: launching of 5G services by Mauritius Telecom; implementation of the MoRendezVous queing system to ease access at several Government departments and even for religious gathering; and launching of MoKloud which is a digital platform for online Birth and Marriage Certificates; and the Digital Vaccination Pass which will soon become a reality via the BeSafeMoris platform.
He also underlined the unflinching support of China in the sustainable socio-economic development of Mauritius. Since the founding of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
in 2000, Mauritius has benefitted from important Chinese assistance for its development, notably in the modernisation of infrastructure, he said.
For his part, Ambassador Liying Zhu underlined the role of ICT in the Mauritius-China cooperation and the relations between China and Africa. He recalled that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between Mauritius and China in October 2019 and which entered into force on 01st January 2021 is China’s First FTA with an African country.
This agreement, he said, would also spur international cooperation in the digital sector, boost macro-policy coordination, and facilitate the development of the digital and sharing economy. According to him, digital trade provides many golden opportunities to build global collaboration.
Today, fiber connection has covered the whole of the country and the ICT infrastructure in Mauritius is conducive to investment and trade facilitation, and integrating Mauritius into global trade.
Quality and proven infrastructure is key to support services export capacity which is a major component of the FTA strategy, he added. The Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Mauritius Office, Mr Zheng Kui, recalled that Mauritius is the 8th most fibre-based country in the world in terms of connectivity and the first in Africa.
He stated that despite COVID-19, the digital economy became the engine of economy growth in Mauritius. He indicated that among the many new skills in the digital era, ICT skills are critical to current and future employment.
The gravity of workplace skills is already shifting towards digital and hence adequate ICT skills area prerequisite to participate fully in political, social and economic activities, he added.
ICT Competition Awards Ceremony
The launching of the Digi Talent Competition also coincided with the Huawei ICT Competition Awards Ceremony-Regional and Global Finals, and the ICT Competition Awards Ceremony-Outstanding Instructors.
The ICT Competition is an international ICT talent exchange event developed by Huawei for University and College students to promote the healthy development of the ICT talent ecosystem and support the integration between industry and education. On the occasion, the Huawei Talent Cultivation White Paper was also launched.
