AICTO Magazine "SMART" | 05 - 2022
The Arab ICT Organization organized the first edition of the First Arab Annual Forum on “Developing Arab postal capabilities in the field of e-commerce and e-payment” on June 07, 2022, in Algeria in cooperation with the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab ICT Ministers, and under the high patronage of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, in parallel with the Permanent Arab Postal Committee (05-09/06/2022).
This important event comes within the framework of AICTO’s will to develop Arab postal capabilities in the field of e-commerce and remote payment, it has represented a regional platform to exchange experiences, solutions, and success stories, in addition to enhancing regional cooperation among Arab countries by dealing current important International issues, such as securing electronic financial transactions and developing electronic payment methods.
The forum was inaugurated by Mr. Zaidi Louay, Director General of Algerian Post, during which he welcomed all the attendees and wished them a pleasant stay in Algeria, and pointed out the importance of this forum as a fertile space for exchanging initiatives and experiences and also an opportunity to consider and discuss mechanisms for developing this vital field.
The Director-General of the Arab ICT Organization_HE. Eng. Mohamed Ben Amor, addressed his thanks to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria for hosting this event and for its fruitful collaboration and contribution to the success of the event, also the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers for Telecommunications and the information for their collaboration to promote joint Arab action.
He also highlighted the vital role that the postal sector is playing at the national and global level of the digital economy, stressing the need to develop the e-commerce and electronic payment methods and secure electronic financial transactions considering their importance in contributing to achieving inclusive economic growth
Then the representative of the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers for Communications and Information, Mr. Khaled Wali, express his wishes for success for the forum and pointed out the need for interconnection between Arab postal administrations and the specialized work groups of the League of Arab States.
This forum witnessed a wide and high-level attendance of relevant stakeholders and experts in the postal field from more than 12 Arab countries.
A training course on “Components of the Electronic Payment Information System”, was organized in parallel with the forum which dealt with Tunisian Post’s experience in this field, especially The new technologies adopted by Tunisian Post to develop the e-payment system that reach the international level in terms of safety and fluidity of electronic financial transactions.
FUTURE TECH EXPO & SUMMIT
The Arab ICT Organization is the coordinator of the Arab Digital Capital initiative (Decision of the Council of Arab ICT Ministers No. 610, Regular Session 24, on December 17, 2020).
Within this framework, AICTO is pleased to announce and support Future Tech Expo & Summit which will take place in Muscat the “Arab Digital Capital for the year 2022”, during the period 12 – 13 September 2022.
After its successful launch, as Oman’s First Virtual Expo and Summit in 2020, Future Tech Expo & Summit is back, taking place from 12 – 13 September 2022, as a Hybrid Event.
Future Tech is Sultanate of Oman’s foremost B2B and B2G bespoke Technology Event. It is a definitive meeting place facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue with power packed networking opportunities among C-Level executives, leading industry experts, decision makers, policy makers and government officials from across the value chain to foster collaboration, discuss current challenges, business opportunities, develop market strategies, share knowledge and identify solutions shaping the future of technology.
For more information, please visit the Event Website through the link: www.futuretechevent.com
For Exhibiting Enquiries and Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact: Ms. Ulrika Varela, Project Director
M: +968 9396 1624 | info@wpsummits.com
Within the framework of the organization of the first Arab annual forum on “Developing Arab postal capabilities in the field of e-commerce and e-payment” on June 07, 2022, in Algeria, H.E. Eng. Mohamed Ben Amor, Director General of the Arab ICT Organization was honored by the warm welcome of His Excellency Mr. Karim Bibi Triki – Minister of Post and Telecommunications of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria at the Ministry’s headquarters on Monday 6 June 2022.
The meeting focused on the aspects of cooperation between AICTO and the ministry and their future prospects. On this occasion, Eng. Ben Amor gave an overview of AICTO’s major current activities, projects, and initiatives as well as their recent publications.
AICTO’s Director- General praised the great development witnessed by both ICT and postal sectors in the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
On his side, the Algerian Minister praised the role played by AICTO in the region, and its achievements and recent publications namely the Arab strategy for cybersecurity, the white paper on IPV 6, SMART magazine… He also expressed his continuous support to the organization and its activities.
He reiterated his strong will to enhance collaboration with AICTO in order to achieve its projects, especially those related to the elaboration of the Arab strategy for cybersecurity, considering their importance to protecting the digital interests of the region and preserving its identity and privacy.
He also presented an overview of the Algerian experience in the field of digital inclusion, which aims to reach the coverage of the entire Algerian territory with Internet service and to provide access to the telecommunications network for all Algerian citizens, wherever they are, with the required quality and at acceptable prices.
The above forum was organized in cooperation with the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers for Communications and Information Technology and under the high patronage of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the Algerian People’s Democratic Republic.
The Director-General of the Arab ICT Organization meets with the Qatari Delegation of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Within the framework of his participation in the WISIS Forum 2022 (30 May – June 03, 2022- ITU headquarters, Geneva), HE. Eng. Mohamed Ben Amor Director-General of AICTO met with the Qatari delegation of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology chaired by H.E Undersecretary_ Dr. Mashael Ali Al-Hammadi.
This meeting represented an opportunity to discuss several AICTO’s projects and initiatives, namely those related to the Arab strategy for cybersecurity, Arab-African e-Certification Authorities Network”, and ICT for people with disabilities.
The 25th session of AICTO’s Executive Council, chaired by His Excellency Mr. Amir Al-Bayati – Republic of Iraq, was held on May 12, 2022 in Tunis, during which were presented the report on AICTO’s achievements for the year 2021 and the Action Plan for the years 2023-2024, also the inauguration of AICTO’s Regional Office in Baghdad was followed-up.
The meeting of the 19th session of the General Assembly was chaired by HE. Eng. Adel Hassan Mohamed Hussein, Minister of Communications and Digital Transformation in the Republic of Sudan, with the presence of the chairman of AICTO’s Executive Council _HE. Mr. Amir Al-Bayati – Republic of Iraq and the Director-General of the Arab ICT Organization_HE. Eng. Mohamed Ben Amor.
This session witnessed the participation of delegations from the following Arab member States: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Tunisia, the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Republic of Iraq, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Palestine, the State of Qatar, the State of Libya, the kingdom of Morocco, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Republic of Yemen, In addition to the representative of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States – Department of Arab Organizations and Federations – Economic Affairs Sector.
Among the most important decisions of the General Assembly of the current session :
-The Approval of AICTO’s action plan and budget for the years 2023-2024.
The setting up of a media communication committee in ICT field under the name “Shireen Abu Aqleh Committee”.
The establishment of this committee came at the initiative of the Palestinian delegation representing the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
AICTO and all member states welcomed the initiative, stressing their support and participation in forming the committee to anchor and memorialize the memory of the martyr Shireen Abu Aqleh.
In this context, the Director-General of the Arab ICT Organization, H.E. Eng. Mohamed ben Amor expressed the support of AICTO for this initiative and his condemnation of the heinous crime, which he considered a mouth muzzling policy for the reality of the occupation crimes on the occupied Palestinian territories.
It is worthy to mention that this committee aims to exchange experiences, projects, and youth initiatives among AICTO member states, to contribute to the development of the ICT sector in the Arab region.
During this session, Dr. Bilel Jamoussi, the Arab candidate for the position of Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau at the International Telecommunication Union for the period 2023-2026, was introduced,(elections will be held during the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference from September 26 to October 14, 2022 in Bucharest, Romania) in addition to the presentation of the Arab Digital Capital Initiative which is hosted by the Omani capital, Muscat – Sultanate of Oman for the year 2022, after it was hosted by the new administrative capital – Arab Republic of Egypt – in 2021 and Riyadh – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – in 2020.
“Transition to IPv6” InterRegional Summit
Challenges and Opportunities, Tunis, 09 May 2022
The Arab ICT Organization has organized, in partnership with the African Telecommunication Union and under the high patronage of the Ministry of Communication Technologies of the Republic of Tunisia, the first edition of the high-level interregional Summit “Transition to IPv6” on Monday 9 May 2022, in the Republic of Tunisia.
The organization of this important event stems from the keenness of AICTO to raise the awareness of the importance of using the Sixth Internet Protocol, given the remarkable slowness of countries of the Arab and African regions in adopting national strategies to move from the fourth to the sixth version, despite the great positive economic impact of this transition.
During this summit, the outline to set up the roadmap for the transition strategy to IPv6 was discussed in addition to the release of a white paper on the most important regional experiences from the region and at the international level as well.
The works of this summit were inaugurated by H.E. Eng. Mohamed ben Amor, Director-General of the Arab ICT Organization, noting that the organization of this event falls within the framework of the entrusted role of AICTO to develop and promote the ICT sector in the Arab region, as the transition to the IPv6 has actually become a critical challenge to ensure the stability of the Internet and business continuity and support its future growth and development due to the imminent exhaustion of Internet Protocol addresses in its fourth version.
H.E. Mr. John Omo, Secretary-General of the African Telecommunication Union gave an update on the situation in Africa regarding the transition to IPv6, clarifying that it faces many challenges, not only from a technological side but also from the economic and security one.
He mentioned the education sector as an example, especially during the COVID-19 crisis when teaching was mainly done online, indicating that for that reason, governments must play a leading role in accelerating this transition in order to facilitate procedures and establish real industrial policies on this topic.
From his side, H.E. Dr Bilel Jamoussi, Chief of the Study Groups Department of ITU Standardization Bureau enumerated the benefits of moving to IPv6, including better network management, more control over cybersecurity, and technological compatibility with the rest of the world.
- Mr. Philip Wang, Executive Vice President of Huawei Northern Africa, emphasized the importance of this summit for the digital transition issue that the region is witnessing, responding to the rise of the number and quality of connections, the expansion of the increasing demand for connectivity in the era of data flowing while ensuring safety standards.
According to him, this transition should occur in a thoughtful way that enables it to thrive in future needs, especially with the advent of 5G technologies, IoT, etc.
This summit witnessed wide and high-level physical participation of more than 130 delegates and experts in the field from many Arab and African countries, with the coverage of live broadcasts on social media.
Keynote speeches for this summit were delivered by distinguished high-profile speakers, Mr. Latif Ladid, President of the IPV6 Forum, and Dr. XIAO Xipeng, Head of Datacom Standard and Industry Development, Huawei Europe.
The first session dealt with the “IPv6 challenges and opportunities” issue, especially with the remote participation of the ITU Director of the Africa Regional Office, Mrs. Anne-Rachel Inne, as well as the interventions in the presence of Dr. Chafiq Chaya, RIPE NCC Regional Communications Manager, Middle East Region, United Arab Emirates, and Afrinic Representative.
The second session of the summit focused on some experiences in the process of moving to the IPv6, which brought together a representative of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Tunisia, in addition to representatives of the three operators (Tunisie Telecom, Ooredoo, and Orange). This session was moderated by the eminent professor Dr. Farouk Kammoun.
AICTO extends its thanks to all contributors to the success of this important event through the active participation of all parties, partners, and associated members: Tunisie Telecom, Ooredoo Tunisia, Orange Tunisia, the National Telecommunications Authority, the Tunisian Internet Agency, the Center for Studies and Research for Telecommunications, and especially its strategic partner “Huawei”
IPv6 White Paper
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology in the Sultanate of Oman is organizing, within the framework of declaring Muscat the Arab Digital Capital for the year 2022 (decision of the Council of Arab ICT Ministers in its Regular session 25) the 31st edition of the Information and Communication Technology Exhibition COMEX 2022, during the period from 23 to 25 May 2022 at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre OCEC -, Muscat – Sultanate of Oman.
It is worthy to mention that the Arab ICT Organization is the coordinator of the Arab Digital Capital initiative (Decision of the Council of Arab ICT Ministers No. 610, Regular Session 24, on December 17, 2020).
More details are available through the exhibition Brochure and the website via the following link: https://comex.om/2022/
HE. Eng. Mohamed Ben Amor, Director-General of the Arab ICT Organization took part in the works of the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development 2022, under the theme “Recovery and Resilience”, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in cooperation with the League of Arab States and United Nations Entities operating in the Arab region during the period from 15 to 17 March 2022.
The Forum, organized in partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS) and 16 UN regional entities, was inaugurated by HE. Mr. Ahmed Abu El-Gheit Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of Jordan Nasser Shraideh as Chair of AFSD-2022, and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti.
The Director-General of the Arab ICT Organization participated as a speaker in the discussion session on “multi-stakeholder efforts that drive digital transformation for sustainable recovery”.
During this session, he touched on the role that AICTO has played in contributing to the recovery from the effects of the Corona pandemic by developing a special platform for information and awareness that brings together all approved projects and initiatives in the ICT field which have been implemented by the Arab countries, in addition to holding a high-level virtual forum on “ICT Fighting covid-19, during which Arab initiatives and success stories were reviewed in order to support and assist all Arab countries and concerned structures in confronting this the pandemic.