President Kagame's Keynote Address at Mobile World Kigali 2023 Opening Ceremony
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 (upbeat music)
00:05 (upbeat music)
00:07 (upbeat music)
00:10 (upbeat music)
00:39 - Mars, Greenland, SMA, Director General,
00:44 Doreen, Borden-Martin, ITU Secretary General,
00:52 Dr. Manny Abzaid, African Union Commissioner
00:58 for Infrastructure and Energy,
01:00 senior officials and business leaders,
01:04 members of the diplomatic corps,
01:07 distinguished ladies and gentlemen.
01:09 First of all, I'm pleased to join you
01:15 for the opening ceremony of this Mobile World Congress.
01:20 I welcome you all.
01:26 We are very happy to host you.
01:35 I commend MArts and GSMA
01:39 for the important work you are doing
01:45 to unlock the full potential of mobile connectivity.
01:50 I thank you.
01:54 I thank you for contributing to our continent's development.
02:03 The pandemic has added to accelerating the transition
02:08 to a new era of the technology-led development.
02:16 Our young and talented entrepreneurs are driving this change
02:24 and we continue to support them.
02:32 For example, financial technology is starting
02:37 to make a big difference in everyday lives of our citizens.
02:43 The potential of digital health technology
02:51 to transform our health systems is also very clear.
03:00 That means we have to address the gaps
03:05 in the access and connectivity with a sense of urgency.
03:10 Too many Africans remain offline.
03:18 Today, Africa has the fastest growing
03:26 mobile penetration rate globally,
03:31 but we still have a long way to go.
03:35 Yet, we already have the means to address
03:42 the problems we are dealing with today.
03:52 Regional integration, powered by faster
03:56 and more reliable broadband, is a big part of it.
04:03 The African Union and Smart Africa
04:09 are our key institutions leading this,
04:12 and Africa enjoys strong support from many partners.
04:21 We can get more results faster by working together.
04:26 I want to commend Ayrtel Rwanda
04:35 for bringing the cost of 4G data
04:38 within reach of nearly every Rwandan,
04:43 with a new initiative announced yesterday.
04:50 (audience applauding)
04:54 And many thanks to philanthropic support
05:02 from Reed Hastings, the co-founder
05:08 and executive chairman of Netflix.
05:11 Rwandans will be able to acquire a new smartphone
05:18 for under $20 in order to take advantage of the offer.
05:23 (audience applauding)
05:29 MTN Rwanda has already offered new competitive pricing
05:35 to its customers as well.
05:41 This is also very good news.
05:46 We thank MTN.
05:48 (audience applauding)
05:51 Government's role was to maintain an enabling environment
05:56 and a level playing field.
05:58 This shows the power of collaboration
06:04 among the private sector, government,
06:10 and strategic philanthropy.
06:17 At the same time, we must continue
06:22 to prioritize digital skills and literacy.
06:27 Globally, we are also seeing strong momentum
06:35 to support Africa's digital transformation.
06:40 The ITU's partner to connect,
06:47 Digital Coalition, launched last year,
06:51 is a very good example.
06:53 So far, over $32 billion in pledges have been mobilized
07:00 and hard to reach communities will benefit the most.
07:12 I thank ITU under the leadership of Doreen Borden-Martin
07:17 for spearheading this alliance.
07:24 If there is one lesson from the pandemic,
07:31 it is that in times of crisis,
07:37 we have to look for the common denominator.
07:42 Only then can we see the light at the end of the tunnel
07:47 and build the future we all deserve.
07:53 Once again, I thank you all for coming to Kigali
08:00 to attend the Mobile World Congress,
08:07 which we are very happy to host for the second time.
08:12 You are most welcome and wish you all a productive meeting.
08:20 And I thank you for your kind attention.
08:25 (audience applauding)
08:28 (upbeat music)