 Welcome to the ITU studio in Geneva, Switzerland, where we've got the great pleasure of being joined in the studio today by José Ulisses de Pina Correa e Silva, who is the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cabo Verde. Prime Minister, welcome to the studio. Thank you for the invitation. I happen to be here. It's our great pleasure, I can assure you. Now, in an article that appeared in ITU News in December 2020, actually, you were quoted as saying, as a concept of digital democratization, we hope to make internet access an essential right. Prime Minister, I wanted to ask you, could you tell us about some of Cabo Verde's major and most recent digital transformations and or ICT milestones? Access to the internet is very important for us. About 8% of the population of Cabo Verde have this access. And these numbers explain how Cabo Verde invests in the internet and how the connectivity is very important for us. Because we are islands, we have most of our population, it lives abroad, more than the resident population, we need to connect, families need to connect with families abroad, in the United States, we have most of Cabo Verde living there. And for the economy, it's very, very important. For the service, it's very important. We declare internet has a good, essential good. And for that, we introduce some incentives to promote more use with good price for the users. And how is that going? Is it going successfully for you? It's going well, because it's not just the number of the user of the internet. It's what the internet is important for the companies, for the public administration, for the citizens, for the good service, for education, health, transportation, tourism, all sectors need goods, digital system. For the energy, all the activities, it's a link to the internet, to the digital transformation now. Now, Cabo Verde also geographically is in a very good position. A state-of-the-art optical platform, which has been offering secure high-capacity connectivity and low latency, linking the major terrestrial and subsea hubs in Europe and Latin America. The LLINK is now running through Cabo Verde. And Cabo Verde is also, I read, has approved a legislation that creates and regulates a new special economic zone for technologies called ZIT, which is located in the Digital Islands Technological Park. I wanted to ask you, what do you think will be the major opportunities and challenges for digital transformation in your country over the rest of the current decade? It's a need and it's an approach for the next future. We need to be more resilient, to diversify our economy behind the tourism, we need digital economy, we need a blue economy, we need an agriculture more intelligent and a smart industry. And in all these sectors, we need digital transformation, digital support. And we create this special zone, Economic Technology Special Zone, to promote it to attract investors. Because it's a zone that we have good fiscal incentives, financial incentives, and you can create all the opportunity to develop your business. In face to conclude, two technical parks, one in Praia, another in São Vicente. We have a good system in Data Center in Praia and another backup in São Vicente. To position Cabo Verde as a platform, as a hub in digital economy in Africa and in our region in the Atlantic, Middle Atlantic. And it will transform Cabo Verde because we need to be very small and we need to be very, very efficient. And we need the connectivities with the islands and with the rest of the world. And for that is a good opportunity to diversify the economy, to be more efficient and to provide quality of service for the citizens, for the companies, and for the whole organization that works in Cabo Verde and with Cabo Verde. So there we are, an open call for investments and for companies to come to Cabo Verde and really set up base there in this digital island archipelago. And to attract investors from diaspora because we have Cabo Verde well positioned in the companies in the United States, in the Europe countries and to attract foreign investors. We look forward to see brands like Facebook like Google or others can have opportunity to do business in Cabo Verde because we have stability, good governance and good location and we are investing in infrastructure, technology communication and internet to be competitive. And for that we need the investors in Cabo Verde. Absolutely. I've never visited but I've heard nothing but praise. On all accounts that you've just mentioned there. I'm invited to go. Yes, I look forward to it. Now, as you're no doubt aware, the ITU planning potential conference which is held every four years is coming up this very September on the 26th of September to the 14th of October in Bucharest in Romania. I wanted to ask you what are the key outcomes that you hope to see from this landmark conference and how do you think that ITU should evolve to meet the needs of the digital age? First, I want to participate. I think in the delegation to participate because we need to be present. Second, for us, digital and ICT, it's a key instrument to do good and fast transformation and in Africa we need to grow. And the special approach to the seeds, the small islands in developing states, they have very specificities and we need to present the seeds as a reference to have a special approach, a special instrument for the financement and islands that can develop very fast. And to develop fast, we need more and more investment in digital transformation and digital opportunities and to transform some ideas that the countries are rich because they have natural and mineral resources. Natural and mineral resources can help but to transform the countries, we need to transform these resources in education, in health, in employment and well-being for the country, in innovation, in technology. And for that, we need this support of the ICT. We say in Cape Verde because in Cape Verde we have the problem with the regularity of the rain but for the ICT, we don't need rain. We need talents, we need infrastructure, we need good telecommunication and we need stability to attract good investment and we need good connectivity. Let's hope that you'll be singing in the rain digitally and very much in terms of investment as well. But thank you so much, Prime Minister, for taking the time out of your very busy schedule, I'm sure, to join us in the ICT studio today. It's been a great pleasure to have you in the studio. Thank you, my pleasure. Thank you.