Telecommunications giant Huawei on Friday signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with the African Union to strengthen partnership in the areas of Broadband, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing, 5G, and artificial intelligence.
The agreement was signed by Thomas Kwesi Quartey, the Deputy Chair Person of the African Union Commission and Philippe Wang, Huawei’s Vice-President for the Northern African region.
The MoU offers new opportunities for the different African Union departments to share the experience with Huawei in the area of ICT project management and delivery in support of African continental ICT development, including cybersecurity, digital health, education, and other related areas.
The initiative will source local talents to train them for future digital challenges in the tech ecosystem. It will also increase employment opportunities for young people by providing them with ICT knowledge and skills. The new agreement builds on a previous the MoU signed in February 2015.
“This collaboration shows AU’s continuous trust in Huawei,” said Philippe Wang, Huawei’s Vice-President for the Northern African region, in charge of public relations and communication. “And by this action should we put a total end to the rumors of data leakage from AU by Huawei equipment, as AU has totally audited their IT system for the whole organization, and nothing corroborates what was said in media reports one year ago. Huawei, strategic partner for the digitalization of Africa is committed to providing the African Union with a unique experience that meets their expectations and needs, especially in terms of technology transfer and connectivity.”
“Under this agreement, we are pleased to consolidate our existing partnership with Huawei, a leading group in the fields of innovation and technological research,” said Thomas Kwesi Quartey, the Deputy Chair Person of the African Union Commission (AUC). “It is essential that we work closely with our partners to meet the digital transformation challenges of Africa.”
