ATU reaffirms commitment to Africa’s digital progress at WTDC25 sidelines meeting
Date: 2025-11-20
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The
African Telecommunications Union (ATU) has reaffirmed its commitment to
strengthening Africa’s digital transformation following a high-level sidelines
meeting at the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2025 (WTDC25) in
Baku, Azerbaijan.
The
engagement brought together key global and regional stakeholders, including
representatives from ICANN, the Internet Society (ISOC), and senior leadership
of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Among the attendees were
ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, BDT Director Dr. Cosmas Luckyson
Zavazava, ICANN’s Yaovi Atohoun, and ISOC’s Sebastian Bellagamba.
The
meeting served as an opportunity to reflect on the progress achieved since the
launch of the Coalition for Digital Africa in December 2022 in Addis Ababa. The
initiative has become a cornerstone for advancing coordinated action to expand
digital access, strengthen infrastructure, and enhance capacity across the
continent.
ATU
Secretary-General, John Omo underscored the importance of strong partnerships
in supporting Africa’s connectivity goals. He highlighted ATU’s pivotal role in
driving the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) project, which aims
to bolster the security and reliability of country-code top-level domains.
Mr.
Omo noted that an increasing number of African countries are adopting DNSSEC, a
development he said is essential for improving trust in online platforms and
safeguarding digital services for millions of users.
The
discussions at the sidelines meeting are expected to further align
collaborative efforts among key institutions working to accelerate Africa’s
digital growth and resilience.
