U.S. Trade and Development Agency
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600 * Arlington, Virginia 22209
Telephone (703) 875-4357 * Fax (703) 875-4009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Donna Thiessen
(703) 875-4357
USTDA PROMOTES THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR IN ETHIOPIA
Mr. Nega Alemayehu (left), CTIT Director, and Mr. Kevin Sullivan (right), Political and Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, shake hands following the award of a USTDA grant to support an advanced training program for management professionals on telecommunications issues.
ADDIS ABABA – (June 8, 2006) Promoting economic growth in Ethiopia through the expansion of the nation’s capacity to develop its telecommunications sector is the goal of a U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) grant awarded yesterday to the College of Communications and Information Technology (CTIT) in Ethiopia. The $169,520 grant will support an advanced training program for Ethiopian Telecommunications Agency (ETA) and Ethiopia Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) management professionals on a variety of telecommunications issues, including policy development, regulatory reform and financial/tariffing procedures.
The grant was conferred during a signing ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. Mr. Kevin Sullivan, Political and Economic Counselor U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, and Mr. Nega Alemayehu, CTIT Director, signed the grant agreement on behalf of the U.S. government and CTIT, respectively.
The training program responds to a recent major and unparalleled investment made by the Ethiopian government in the telecommunications sector for the construction of a new fiber infrastructure. Specifically, the training will expand ETA and ETC’s capability to improve the quality, universality and type of available telecommunications services in Ethiopia. As a result of the training, ETA and ETC will be better positioned to meet consumer demand for telecommunications services, to promote economic development, and to ensure a continuing revenue flow to the national budget.
The opportunity to provide the training under the grant awarded today will be competed on the Federal Business Opportunities website at www.fedbizopps.gov. Interested U.S. firms should submit proposals according to the instructions contained in the Federal Business Opportunities announcement. CTIT will select the U.S. contractor that will provide the USTDA-funded assistance.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. USTDA’s strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.
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