Morocco and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have recently signed in Marrakech, a cooperation agreement on to the creation of a Regional Center of Numerical Documentation for Communication and Information Technologies.
The agreement, reports <i>EMarrakech</i>, was signed during the opening of the seventh Arab Forum of Telecommunications and Internet (taking place from May 19 to 21), by Rachid Talbi El Alami, deputy minister in charge of general and economic affairs and Hamadoun Toure, director of the Office of Development of Telecommunications (BDT), concerned to the ITU.
According to this agreement, the Moroccan ministry, with coordination with the BDT, will start by setting up a steering committee to evaluate the feasibility of the Center. The Moroccan Ministry will be responsible for the collection of information and will take part in the financing of the project, up to 300,000 dollars.
On its part, the BDT will, inter alia, appoint experts to ensure and follow-up of the realization of this project and will assist the ministry in gathering the necessary funds for the establishment of the center.
The overall cost of the center is estimated to reach 1,146,000 dollars. This sum will be raised jointly by Morocco, the BDT and other partners. The initiative for the project came from Morocco during the International Conference for Telecommunications Development (Cmdt-02), held in Istanbul in March 2002.
