Kenya seeks stronger ITU collaboration at WTDC-25, renews bid for council seat

By:  Nana Appiah Acquaye

Kenya has reaffirmed its commitment to global digital development and expressed interest in deeper collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) during a bilateral meeting between Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, William Kabogo, and ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-25) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Mr. Kabogo conveyed Kenya’s appreciation for the ITU’s continued support, citing technical assistance initiatives, the Africa Broadband Maps project, and capacity-building efforts that have strengthened the Kenya Computer Incident Response Team Coordination Centre (KE-CIRT/CC) and the Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre in Nairobi.

He also formally communicated Kenya’s request for support in its bid for re-election to the ITU Council, highlighting the country’s position as Africa’s top-ranked ICT regulatory environment and its active contributions to ITU programmes.

During the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary outlined Kenya’s major digital transformation programmes, including the Digital Superhighway project, the rollout of 1,450 digital hubs, e-Citizen platform digitisation, the National Digital Masterplan, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, and the proposed National Cybersecurity Authority.

Kenya expressed interest in expanded cooperation with the ITU in areas such as meaningful connectivity, digital government, cybersecurity, device affordability, open-source technology adoption, and digital skills development. Kabogo added that Kenya remains ready to host future ITU events and pilot programmes as part of its commitment to advancing global digital inclusion.