Colombia Signs Bilateral Agreement with Dominican Republic to Promote Digital Connectivity

Colombia’s ICT (Information & Communications Technologies) Minister Sandra Urrutia (until last weekend’s cabinet ouster in Colombia) and the President of the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel) Nelson Arroyo signed a memorandum of understanding during the 42nd session of the Permanent Consultative Committee on Telecommunications/ICTs of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (Citel), in Punta Cana last week with the objective of promoting cooperation actions and exchange of information on good practices that promote connectivity and transformation. digital of both countries.

Minister Urrutia, who served as president of Citel, said that “one of our objectives is to establish strong and fruitful relationships with countries in the region that allow us to learn about experiences that enrich us and, at the same time, present our programs and strategies. The issues on which we will work with the Dominican Republic, such as policies for accessibility, connectivity, the development of digital skills in citizens and the safe and responsible use of ICTs, are fundamental in our task of democratizing access to ICTs.”

The memorandum is valid for two years, extendable if the two countries so decide. Among the actions contemplated are the organization of dialogue tables; conducting joint workshops; exchange of material, information, documentation and data available in the areas of cooperation, design, planning and development of agreed strategic cooperation plans and policies; and implementation of joint projects to enable access to ICTs from an equity and inclusion perspective.

MinTIC’s strategy: “to connect the unconnected”

After the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the Dominican Republic, Minister Urrutia participated in the panel ‘The progress of technical assistance for the implementation of the initiative to connect the unconnected’, where she presented Conecta TIC 360, the MinTIC strategy to bring the country’s digital connectivity to 85%, as the Government of change has committed.

“We work to not only bring connectivity, infrastructure, but additionally we want to bring digital literacy. We are convinced that technology is the means to development and cannot be exclusive or exclusive. Our goal is to incorporate women, young people, people with disabilities, the elderly, because the center of all digital transformation is the human being,” said Minister Urrutia.

The minister explained that Colombia is advancing in the implementation of two complementary strategies to achieve the goal of increasing connectivity with fixed and mobile access by 85% by 2026. The first is a national strategy where we work with the mobile industry, the satellite industry, different entrepreneurs and emerging technologies, among other actors. The other is a focused regional one, which will strengthen small Internet service providers and connectivity communities to bring connectivity to deep Colombia.

See also: Indotel’s Julissa Cruz Is Raising The Dominican Republic’s Level of IT Competitiveness

Above photo: Nelson Arroyo, president of the Board of Directors of Indotel, Joel Santos, Minister of the Presidency of the Dominican Republic and Sandra Urrutia, Minister of ICT (courtesy MinTIC).