Vietnam – Angola to boost IT, telecommunication cooperation

On March 13, the Ministry of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan met with his Angolan counterpart, Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology José Cavarlho de Rocha, who is visiting Vietnam to seek investment opportunities in the field of IT and telecommunications.

Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan (R) meets up with Angolan Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology José Cavarlho de Rocha on March 13. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam’s telecommunication industry has grown at a fast rate, Tuan said, adding that the local ICT market generated about 41 billion USD last year.

The minister emphasised that Vietnam aims to develop IT and telecommunication corporations that extend beyond national boundaries to become international with larger capital and higher standards in technology and management.

Military-run telecoms firm Viettel has entered ten foreign markets so far with most of its investment poured into Laos and Cambodia. The company wishes to enter more overseas markets, including Angola, he noted.

Other big telecom groups, such as VNPT and FPT, are also looking for opportunities in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Minister Truong Minh Tuan lauded the position of Angola in Africa and its great potential for developing IT and telecommunication.

For his part, Angolan Minister Jose Cavarlho da Rocha said there are now two mobile network operators and a landline network provider with a total of 14 million subscribers in Angola. The country has been calling for foreign investment to build about 20,000 kilometres of optical fiber cables across its 16 cities and provinces.

The minister said that the trip to Vietnam is an opportunity for him to meet local companies and discuss partnership in IT and telecommunications between the two countries.

Later the same day, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam, accompanied by local mobile operators and IT businesses, had a dialogue with the visiting delegation from Angola to discuss cooperation in the field./.

VNF/VNA