Media Statement on the hosting of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World Conference for first on the African continent.
Honourable Minister Manoj Sinha from India,
Honourable Minister Konstantin Noskov from Russia,
Honourable Vice Minister Zhaoxiong Chen from China,
Honourable Vice Minister Andre Muller Borges from Brazil,
Leaders of State-Owned Companies from BRICS Countries,
Representatives of organised business,
Representatives of SMMEs,
Senior Government Officials,
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen
Welcome to this briefing which shares the key highlights of the progressive discussions and agreements coming out of the 4th BRICS Ministers of Communication Meeting which is held under the theme “Advancing Inclusive Growth through Industry and SMME Participation”.
The Meeting included a BRICS Business Forum which had registered 270 businesses and SMMEs.
The meeting took forward the ICT related discussions taken at the recent BRICS Summit and to strengthen cooperation within the BRICS nations.
The Meeting built on the work done in the previous three meetings by continuing to embrace ICT for sustainable development and humanity.
The Ministers committed themselves to implementing their agreements taking into account the opportunities and challenges brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for the mutual benefit of the peoples of member countries. The implementation work will focus on modernising policy formulation, development of legislations, engagement of citizens and effective creation of a conducive environment that will allow members to benefit from the 4IR.
In this regard, the meeting agreed on the following;
- A common agenda on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), in particular, participating in the operationalisation of the Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR).
- The PartNIR is one of the resolutions of the BRICS Summit. This will be done through the establishment of the Digital BRICS Task Force to coordinate cooperation on the digital and ICT enabled interventions for the 4IR.
- Continuing to cooperate on Cybersecurity.
- Consensus on sharing of studies, expertise and information on the roll-out of 5G within BRICS member countries. This includes encouraging intra BRICS investment on 5G and other new emerging technologies.
- Utilisation and cooperation on intellectual property development and manufacturing.
- Facilitating greater participation of SMMEs.
- Increased partnerships on digital skills training.
In the coming year, the BRICS ICT Ministers will focus on areas which include the following;
BRICS Institute for Future Networks
- Establishment of the BRICS Institute for Future Networks (BIFN). Member states are expected to set up their individual chapters. An agreement was reached on the establishment of a council which will decide on the permanent Secretariat of the BIFN, funding model and composition of a permanent secretariat.
BRICS ICT Regulators Forum
- Encourage the establishment of a BRICS ICT Regulators Forum to enable regulators to cooperate on issues within their scope of work. Current domestic legislative frameworks on the mandates of individual members differ across BRICS. Therefore member states committed to continued ongoing discussions with the aim of eventual establishment of the Forum.
As we move to ensure that nobody is left behind in this digital revolution, member countries further committed themselves to one of the declarations made in 2017 in Hangzhou, China to “fully stimulate the innovation of the industry, to continue to expand support to industrial innovation, improve intellectual property protection system, optimize innovation development environment, study and judge technology development trends in depth, and provide guidance for the rapid and sound development of the industry”.
The member states identified Small, Micro, Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) as potential engines to growth and create jobs. Key to unleashing their potential is for governments to support and invest in the innovation and development of ICT SMMEs and broader ICT industry. This collective commitment of the Ministers of Communications is fully supported by the outcomes of the 4th Business to Business Engagements. The Ministers undertook to promote the cooperation of SMMEs from BRICS members. They urged SMMEs to continue to innovate to find solutions which will advance universal telecommunications access.
I thank you.
