The Ministry of Communications and related stakeholders collaborate and strive to achieve a Smart Nation through a well-educated and highly skilled people, an improved quality of life and a dynamic and sustainable economy.

Hence a connected and innovative community, enabled by technological ICT advancements and data-driven service delivery, is an integral part of the ministry's drive towards the goal. Speaking at the "Opening Ceremony of ICT Virtual Organisation of ASEAN Institutes and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, NICT, (ASEAN IVO) Forum 2017", yesterday morning, Awang Haji Azhar bin Haji Ahmad, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications also revealed that Brunei Darussalam has observed a significant rise of data usage and demand internally and globally over the years. He said, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report 2017, mobile subscriptions worldwide in 2016 were 7.5 billion and is estimated to increase to 9 billion in 2022. The country currently already has a mobile penetration of 120 percent.

In an earlier welcoming speech, His Excellency Motohiko Kato, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Brunei Darussalam expressed hope that the information shared, learned and obtained during the forum will be useful and to continuously formulate policies and coordinate activities for mutual benefit.

The ASEAN IVO Forum features the current Research & Development (R&D) Trends in ASEAN countries by International speakers, and presentations from relevant policy makers in Brunei Darussalam. The goal of the forum is to identify strategic ICT research areas in the ASEAN region, and to promote collaborative projects in them. The one-day forum was co-hosted by Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) and NICT.  Also in attendance were Professor Doctor Dayang Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman, the Vice-Chancellor of UTB; Professor Doctor Hideyuki Tokuda, President of NICT and Mr Katsuhiko Kobayashi, Senior Vice-President of NES.

Source:
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by Brudirect.com

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