The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has committed to supporting Eswatini’s digital development, as stated by Prime Minister Russell Dlamini following his meeting with Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the ITU Secretary-General, in Geneva, Switzerland.
During their meeting at the ITU headquarters, Dlamini sought continued assistance for the GovStack programme and emphasised the need for enhanced support to improve affordable access to international fibre connectivity for landlocked nations like Eswatini. The ITU reiterated its dedication to addressing Eswatini’s priorities and its long-standing collaboration with the country.
This meeting followed a recent ITU capacity-building initiative in Eswatini, where local developers received training on the GovStack framework. Supported by the United Nations Development Programme and the ITU, GovStack is a global initiative that offers a standardised framework to help governments develop scalable, open-source digital public services.
In addition, the ITU has helped Eswatini secure satellite orbital resources. Following decisions made at the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023, Eswatini was among the African nations granted orbital resources.
Dlamini expressed his gratitude to the ITU for its role in formulating Eswatini’s National Information and Communication Infrastructure Policy as part of the World Summit on the Information Society programme. He noted that this policy led to the establishment of the Ministry of ICT and subsequently the Eswatini Communications Commission.
