Huawei Provides Millions of Rural People with Connectivity

Rabat – As part of its commitment to the Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Huawei has stated that it has already provided connectivity to 90 million people in rural areas across over 80 nations, according to a statement by the company.

The statement was delivered by Huawei’s Board Chairman Liang Hua during the company’s 2023 Sustainability Forum on November 21, held under the theme “Thriving Together with Tech: Realizing Sustainable Development.”

In order to build an intelligent and more inclusive world, participants looked at how digital infrastructure can support sustainable development.

“Next-generation digital infrastructure, such as connectivity and computing power, are as vital to driving socio-economic development as our physical infrastructure, just like roads,” Hua said during his speech at the forum.

As the sustainable development of society as a whole will depend on this new infrastructure, the chairman emphasized that computing is a key factor in the productivity of the digital economy.

In order to further promote global economic stability and sustainable development, “faster rollout of computing infrastructure will help speed up digital transition in many industries and promote deeper integration of the digital and real economies,” he explained.

Adding to Hua’s statement, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin had said that technology and sustainable development should not be sacrificed for one another, but that both are required.

“Let’s thrive together with tech. Let’s construct a digital future that propels human and environmental progress forward,” Bogdan-Martin declared in her keynote speech.

Huawei has strengthened its relationship with the ITU by introducing the “ITU Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme” fellowship in an effort to promote more widespread digital involvement and cultivate future leaders.

Starting early next year, this fellowship will open its doors to 30 young students annually, aged between 18 and 28, to assist them in their projects aimed at leveraging digital technology to promote community development.

Setting rural people in areas without digital access as its main focus, the P2C Coalition was established by the ITU to promote meaningful connectivity and digital transformation on a global scale.

Huawei signed the global agreement last year with the aim of establishing connectivity for 120 million individuals residing in rural regions across over 80 countries by 2025.

As part of its plan to achieve this goal, Huawei has offered over 2,000 training opportunities in Cambodia, the ITU’s first P2C partner country, in partnership with regional ministries and universities.