 We're here at ITU Telecom World 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand and I've got the great pleasure of being joined by Mr Yunus Karim who is Minister of Communications for South Africa. Minister, thank you very much indeed for being with us today. Thank you for having me and I'm certainly delighted to be here too, thank you. That's fantastic. Now I'd just like to start off by talking about this year's events theme is embracing change in a digital world. Where do you see the biggest opportunities in that change for industry and for society and what are the biggest challenges? Well of course for me it's especially valuable to be here at this first ever ITU. I'm here in this portfolio for the last five months, so I'm a baby if you like, so I'm here mainly to learn. But already I see in the 24 hours I'm here the advantages of moving from analog to digital TV. In particular of course it's short term, medium term and long term consequences. The release of spectrum, much needed radio frequency spectrum, particularly for mobile operators. In our country we have very high costs to communicate which inhibits foreign investment but also domestic investment. So we think the pressure now on the mobile operators to reduce costs for communication is greater and they'll have less excuse not to do so. And what we want to do is to ensure that the most disadvantaged people in our country, the most rural of rural people, the poorest of the poor, begin to understand that they can use their cell phone at a much lower cost for a variety of things beyond just making phone calls and SMSs and indeed in our own continent, in Kenya and other countries, they are using the mobile phone for opportunities for self-employment and for people to be creatively engaged who are at the moment unemployed. In our country as you might know the figures range from 28 to 40% in respect of unemployment. The formal economy will never absorb these people but using the power of the cell phone once we educated them to do so is something that I think offers our country and many other developing countries considerable opportunities for growth particularly of the poor. So how is South Africa embracing the change? Well firstly in a very interesting period on the 4th of December government is going to take final decisions, the cabinet is, on the issue of digital migration and a program around it and exactly whether we use set top boxes if so how and should we if you like have a control system or not and if we choose to do one of those two how does it benefit the poor? In particular our concern is to protect our broadcaster the South African Broadcasting Corporation which is losing market audiences like elsewhere in the world public broadcasters are to the commercial broadcasters both to serve in the free to air and those who aren't paid TV. So we're also on this very day the 4th of December our cabinet deciding finally on our broadband policy strategy and plan. So we see a link between the transfer to digital migration, the decisions about broadband policy strategy and plan and spectrum. I know that you've been here only 24 hours but I wanted to ask you what's the value of attending events such as ITU Telecom World? Well as I say we are exactly poised on the cusp of making these decisions I have just rolled in sexually I'm half asleep I hope your listeners are aware. I'm told by my colleagues who got here two days ago that is a wonderful exhibition out there and for somebody relatively new to this area and I'm learning every day and it's a fascinating area I am amazed at how much there is here that you can do to advance the cause of particularly the poor and the disadvantaged not just economies as a whole. This very panel I've just emerged from I was very struck that other countries in Africa and the developing world are experiencing much the same problems I was very struck that the Kenyan minister says I'm the most unpopular minister at the moment managing all these stakeholders on this issue of migration to digital TV from analog and their vested interests. Well you have precisely the same issues in South Africa where I think I'm slowly becoming one of the more unpopular ministers as new as I am so it is a relief to know I'm not alone. Minister Karim thank you very much for being with us today. And thank you indeed for having me here.