Hon. Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi Vice Minister Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, SAMOA

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1 Gvernment f Sama Hn. Lealailepule Rimni Aiafi Vice Minister Ministry f Cmmunicatins & Infrmatin Technlgy, SAMOA PANEL DISCUSSION 2: Infrastructure Cnnectivity: twards a mre integrated market, 19 th Nv 2018 Head f the Pacific ESCAP Office, Mr Isefa Maiava, ITU Reginal Directr Asia & Pacific Telecmmunicatin Develpment Bureau, Mr Iane Krivuki, President f PITA, Mr Sine Veiks, Speakers and Panellist, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, Bula Vinaka, Talfa Lava. As we are aware as Small Develping Pacific Island States, frm Papua New Guinea, being the largest t Nauru, being the smallest, we face a cmmn yet glbally unique set f develpmental challenges which include but are nt limited t the fllwing: ur respective ppulatins are small by glbal cmparisn; climate change will have a greater impact n us than thers; we are islated frm large markets; and in many cases, remittances are a key surce f natinal incme. Despite these bstacles, we as small Pacific Island States can cntinue t wrk tgether t vercme these challenges. We can address these by wrking tgether

2 n reginally relevant digital initiatives, built n timely exchanges f infrmatin in a cperative and diversified envirnment, which will ultimately guide us t vercme, t a large degree, ur small size. Thrugh enhanced internatinal fibre-based internet cnnectivity, we can bring markets clser t ur Island shres, expsing ur sellers t the wrld, and mst imprtantly reduce the high csts f peratin fr ur Gvernments and Businesses thrugh telecmmuting and nline delivery f educatin and access t training. Cnnectivity has reached ur shres and is cntinuing its passage t ur regin thrugh the vast imprvement in infrastructure. We have witnessed this in February 2018 in Sama, with the landing f ur new submarine fibre ptic trunk, ur natinal internet bandwidth capacity has, in ne jump, expanded t sme 800- fld. And that is just the beginning f things t cme. Sama is n lnger and will never be as remte as it nce was, and we are excited t be able t share ur visin fr a Digital Pacific with yu. Similar leaps frward in the technlgical wrld are happening thrughut the Regin, in the Slmn Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tnga, Tkelau and mst recently with the signing f the Manatua Cable in the last tw weeks that will cnnect Tahiti, Ck Islands, Niue and landed in Sama.

3 The big questin fr us Pacific ICT Champins is: What can be dne t make the mst efficient use f these new state f the art infrastructure? Hw can we make sure that ur peple in the Pacific, including thse frm smaller islands alike have access t cnnectivity, t identify the ecnmic pprtunities that this digital future will bring t the Regin? Investment in cnnectivity nt nly can bring high returns n investment and enhance educatinal pprtunities, digital entrepreneurship, but mre imprtantly building ur ecnmies twards a mre integrated telecm market in the Pacific. In June this year, we held the Inaugural Digital Pacific 2018 in Sama. This was c-rganised by the Ministry f Cmmunicatins and Infrmatin Technlgy and the United Natins system. We were jined by delegates frm seven Pacific Island natins as well as digital transfrmatin experts and representatives frm the private sectr frm arund the wrld. What has becme apparent, smething I believe many peple in this rm will agree with is that, n ne cuntry can g alne n digital transfrmatin. N ne

4 cuntry can wrk in islatin given the evlving and fast changing nature f technlgy. Digital Pacific 2018, marked the beginning f what we hpe will be a reginal dialgue leading t a reginal partnership fr digital transfrmatin. We need t wrk tgether t achieve this. And I am happy t annunce that, the Leaders Meeting in Guam has endrsed this initiative and UNDP will cntinue t hst this event annually and will be knwn as the Digital Pacific Week. The Midterm Review f the S.A.M.O.A Pathway fr the Pacific held in Tnga in June 2018 acknwledged this initiative and marked it in the Reprt as the first intergvernmental mechanism t supprt rapid integratin f technlgy in the regin including thrugh e-gvernance acrss cuntries, taking a jint apprach t ensure transactin csts f such transfrmatins are affrdable fr all natins t access and benefit. Given the advancing stage f cnnectivity in the Pacific, an intergvernmental apprach t clsing the digital divide, intrducing natinal digital IDs and establishing e-gvernance systems, wuld significantly enhance pprtunities fr educatin, emplyment, business and imprved living standards thrugh better access t services at a supersnic pace.

5 Taking a jint reginal apprach in the Natinal ID system and the e- Gvernance design, will help us harmnize ur systems and significantly minimize csts. Sama has started its jurney and is ready t share its lessns! Furthermre, ur Dnrs and Develpment Partners frm the Regin and beynd, expressed interest in supprting ur reginal effrts n digital transfrmatin. As Leaders f the Pacific in the area f ICT, we see this as intricately cnnected with reginal security. In a time where cybercrime is increasing, fake-news is spreading, we must pursue this ambitius agenda with cybersecurity at its cre. We must cntinue t emphasize the imprtance f technlgy and digital systems in strengthening in-cuntry, maritime and reginal security mre bradly and adpting a reginal apprach wuld be key t ur success. The success f ur OnePacific is Talana. The success f all ur develpments, Cnferences, Wrkshps in the Pacific including the Digital Pacific Cnference, demnstrated t us and the Regin, the imprtance f reginal dialgues and partnerships n digital transfrmatin. We must nw wrk tgether t maximise the impact f cnnectivity in the Pacific and make technlgy wrk fr us, fr ur peple! Fa afetai