Good evening to you all. It is a privilege and honor to be given this opportunity to address this important international meeting of Telecommunications stakeholders.
Distinguished guests and participants, on behalf of the people and Government of Solomon Islands I warmly welcome you all to Honiara.

Solomon Islands is honoured to be the venue for this very important 14th PITA AGM.

It’s a privilege indeed to be addressing what I would term as the “backbone” of the Telecommunications industry in the Pacific region and beyond.

We share similar geographical features with many Pacific islands countries. As an archipelagic country, our government always supports the development of telecommunications in SI. The reality of life in an archipelago country is such that we need electronic means to help us create bridges for communication between our scattered communities and also enable them to interact with the global community.

In the past year or so, our Government has liberalized the telecommunication sector. As a result, we now have two licensed operators: BEMOBILE and OUR TELEKOM. We believe the reform will see improvements in quality services at affordable prices, in a competition market. We hope that a third or more entrants can join after April 2011. Telecommunications companies represented here tonight might take serious note of this announcement.

Ladies and Gentlemen, my government moved quickly to liberalize the telecommunications sector to achieve rapid expansion of telecommunications infrastructure and services and make available to the population the widest possible range of efficient, reliable and affordable telecommunications services competitively provided in a well regulated market.
 
Our other objective was to enhance national economic and social development, particularly beyond Honiara, by promoting the ongoing development and effective utilization of telecommunications such that quantifiable impact is achieved throughout the country within the next 5 years.

A key feature of this reform is competition. For competition to have the greatest impact for the consumer and the country more broadly, a modern legislative framework was required to regulate the various suppliers of telecommunication services.  The key attribute of this legislation, and based on international experience was for an independent regulator to make the necessary decisions to ensure the telecommunications market is operating efficiently and fairly.

Having a liberalized telecommunications landscape will radically change the lives of all our citizens.  Almost every person in this country will personally benefit from greater access to telecommunication services.  Also, the country benefits through better productivity, more investment, more employment and increased economic growth.

I am happy to inform you that we have made a lot of progress. And I should say quick process since passage of the law last year. As we speak we now have a second entrant BE MOBILE which is working hard on its infrastructure set up. As we speak Our Telecom is rolling out its network to the rural areas. As we speak Our Telekom has lowered its prices and is improving its quality with the recent G3 network that will enhance mobile use.

So, the telecommunication industry in SI, like our economy is beginning to take off to become one of the vibrant industries . Good times lie ahead for SI. Gold ridge will commence operation next year. Nickel mining on Isabel will go on international tender soon. Our membership to PNA will result in deriving maximum economic benefit from the harvest of our fisheries. And I could go on, but for time. Fundamental to this future positive outlook is the luxury that telecommunication will bring to the equation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this PITA AGM came at a right time for SI. I congratulate Our Telecom and PITA Executive for hosting this AGM at such a prime time in the revolution of our telecommunication industry. Lest I forget I must also commend Our Telecom for supporting SI Government to surrender their monopoly license to allow for this reform.

Ladies and Gentlemen may I offer a suggestion that at the conclusion of this AGM, you would be able make some recommendations to SI stakeholders in view of our liberalization efforts. This is something for you to consider under your ANY OTHER BUSINESS AGENDA ITEM.
 
In advertising, one common catch phrase used to prepare people for new developments in the market is…“watch this space”.

Well watch this place! Watch this country in the next few years. I am confident people will be more selective about their representatives at the coming general elections,  because if their elected members are chosen to be national leaders, they have to think nationally and globally.

I am confident the majority of people will elect representatives who include trustworthy and visionary leaders to take the country ever forward.

We may have had some difficult times just passed, but our future is bright because our people will be thinking of their future and that of their children when they vote.

Their confidence will show in their selection, and that confidence can help investors become more confident in working with us to manage and develop our many resources.

We still have to shake off some of the evils that have beset us in past years, but there is a new vanguard of young professionals and leaders emerging who we know will do better for people, than what has been happening in the past.

So when you meet our technocrats, technologists and telecommunications specialists, you might ask them how they think their future will be secured. I am sure they will say we want solid leaders who have confidence in us to do the right things at the right times.

While PITA is a non-profit organization formed to represent the interests of Pacific Island countries in the field of communications, it has been responsible for improving, promoting, enhancing, facilitating and coordinating the development of communications for the member countries including Solomon Islands.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am led to believe since the humble beginnings of PITA, it now boasts 45 full members, 14 government members and more than 80 associate members and has built strong relations with the International Telecommunications Union and the Asia Pacific Tele-community as well as many organizations that are active participants in the telecommunications and ICT sector.

We in the Pacific Island countries share similar communications challenges as we are scattered island groups. We all aspire to find ways and means to ensure cost-effective and sustainable communications systems.

Our challenge is to find a way to ensure that the many villages in our many islands can have access to mobile telephony and the internet.
We want all our children, wherever they are, to have the same access to educational opportunities and health services as those in the towns and capital, using telecommunication means.

We are a developing economy trying to emulate the telecommunications systems in mature economies. We aspire to those mature conditions, but we must develop the infrastructure and capacity to broaden and grow our economy so that more and more people are active participants and recipients of the benefits.

We rely therefore on such esteemed organizations as the Secretariat for the Pacific Communities and PITA and all you telecommunications gurus represented here tonight to research strategies that can help us bridge the gaps. I wish to thank the SPC most sincerely for your very able stewardship in telecommunications.

I am very confident that our two Telco’s, Solomon Telekom Co. Ltd and Bemobile SI Ltd as well as our other national stake holders in this industry, will be able to find creative means from this exchange of ideas at this PITA AGM forum.

Before I conclude allow me to make the following observations:-

But what benefits our Our Telekom stand to gain from being a member of PITA, shall I ask. Well to start with, Our Telekom and the country as a whole will benefit from playing host to the one-week long Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association Annual General Meeting in Honiara beginning today.

Solomon Telekom participants will use the occasion to show their regional counterparts their operations and whether nor not they are ahead or behind as well as gaining more insight from discussions into how regional telecommunications operators work with their governments on tariffs, rates and regulations.

While I am sure you will all learn from many expert speakers and suppliers what new opportunities are available you can also explore further for your telecommunications operations and your customers. You should also use the opportunity to seek new business solutions to develop the business and add better value to your customers.

May I once again welcome you to Solomon Islands and hope you will return to your countries with fond memories after being here for a week.

Thank you very much and enjoy the rest of the night.