Following the conclusions of the World telecommunications standardization assembly (WTSA-2024) held in India last week, the Secretary general of African telecommunications union (Atu), John Omo encourages African countries to continue working together, supporting and cooperating with African telecommunications union and International telecommunications union (ITU) to contribute, from the forefront, in developing professional and technical expertise and capacity, and effective implementation of the new resolutions. Mr. John Omo underlined this during his interview with TIC-Actualités on wednesday, october 30, 2024.
TIC-Actualités: Mr. Secretary General, you just participated in the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly 2024 in India. What were the main conclusions of this Assembly, and what is the next step?
John Omo : With over 3700 delegates from 164 countries, WTSA-24 was the biggest and most successful ITU standards conference yet, and it was a great honour for us as the african region to participate and to contribute to the new WTSA resolutions. The Assembly made eight new resolutions on AI, metaverse applications, sustainable digital transformation and digital public infrastructure. Other resolutions focused on advanced technologies for intelligent transport systems and automated driving, emergency communications, equipping students and young professionals with ITU standards skills and expertise, and continued improvement and capacity building in standards-related matters. Working with the ITU leadership and other relevant organizations, we will continue to coordinate our member States, to pursue and attain the necessary support on each of these resolutions to drive digital innovation and growth across Africa.
TIC-Actualités: What can african countries take away in their favour at the end of the works of the World telecommunications standardization assembly ?
John Omo: The African Region has a lot to take away from the WTSA-24 Resolutions. It is important to note that the ITU has emphasized its commitment to industry engagement and support for developing countries. In this regard, we will leverage our longstanding relationship with ITU to undertake capacity development with a focus on young people and students as the next generation of standards experts. Taking advantage of being the region with the youngest population average, we will also ensure that our young people are meaningfully engaged in decision-making and capacity development processes within the scope of the new WTSA resolutions, putting standards at the centre of digital innovation and inclusion efforts in Africa.
TIC-Actualités: What do you advise the African Telecommunication Union member states to do for the optimizing of the achievements at the end of this WTSA 2024?
John Omo: We appreciate the ATU member States for their continued cooperation and support, contributing to our strong participation and voice in global conferences, including the WTSA-24. To maximize the resolutions of WTSA-24, African countries need to endorse the strategies and initiatives of the ITU Ielecommunication standardization sector (ITU-T) particularly facilitating the work of the Telecommunications advisory group (TSAG) and ITU-T Study groups for the study period 2025-2028 to undertake their mandate of developing relevant standards, and supporting the implementation of the resolutions to drive digital inclusion in Africa. I encourage African countries to continue working together, supporting and cooperating with ATU and ITU to contribute, from the forefront, in developing professional and technical expertise and capacity, and effective implementation of the Resolutions.
