Commitments for a better connected Africa reaffirmed

During the conference, Ibrahim said, "in January Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the African Union to jointly enhance Information and Communication Technology HICT) literacy and capability and ICT infrastructure development. This would further speed up the realisation of the lofty set goals of Africa's Agenda 2063." Ibrahim continued to say, "we are very grateful for Huawei's goodwill to offer ICT training for 25 employees from the AU in China in the near future. Huawei has also pledged to train up to 1,000 ICT professionals from AU member states ."

Ding said, "In today's world, the development of communications and information technology, and its applications has penetrated into all aspects of human society and is driving the world's economic and social development. Huawei will continue to solidify its efforts with its partners on all fronts because we believe that ICT technologies are reshaping Africa and other parts of the world and leading the next wave of sustainable social development. Through this great opportunity and effective platform, along with all stakeholders, Huawei persist its dedication and full potential to help the African countries striving for industrialisation and modernisation."

Huawei continues to invest heavily in innovation. Over the past 10 years, the technology giant has spent more than USD 30 billion on R&D. "More than 45% of our 170,000 employees engage in R&D-leveraging our experience and expertise in the ICT sector. In 2014, the company's revenue reached approximately USD 46.5 billion. Currently, Huawei's products and solutions are utilised in more than 170 countries, serving one-third of the world's population. We hope to support ICT infrastructure deployment and digital transformation practices across the continent, consequently making a greater contribution to poverty reduction and regional civilisation" added Ding

Huawei Technologies Ethiopia PLC. chief technology officer (CTO), Roger Wu said, "Huawei is ready to exert its full potential and dedication for a better connected Africa than ever before. Huawei has successfully installed 4G mobile technology in Addis Ababa and is now working tirelessly to expand the 4G technology to other states of Ethiopia. It will also exert its utmost efforts in achieving 100 percent of broadband mobile coverage across the nation within the time frame of the GTP ll. Furthermore, as strategic focus for Huawei in bridging the digital divide, apart from offering ICT training for 2,000 Ethiopians at the Huawei training centre in Addis Ababa, so far, 500 Ethiopians have taken training in ICT at the Huawei University in Beijing " Roger added.