 My colleague minister, Honorable Agent Sina Thambu, the Minister of Social Security, Reform Institution and Environment and Sustainable Development, Ms. K. Makkoni, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Small Technology of Barbados. His Excellency, Mr. Muniz Lafaye, Minister of Communication and Transport of Tuvalu. His Excellency, Mr. Leah Lipule Ayafi, Vice Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Samoa. Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of Telecommunication Development Bureau at ITU. Mr. Mamad Bokoz, the Chairman of the ICTA. Ms. Bernadette Lewis, the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Telecommunication Union. Mrs. Morgan, the Permanent Secretary of my ministry. Participant and staff of different institutions and ministries attending the forum. Members of the media, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to the Paradise Island of Mauritius. I'm proud to be addressing you this morning on an issue which has been taking us by storm lately. There is, without any doubt, an utmost urgency to discuss and plan about our response to natural calamities. Two days back, maybe you saw all the havoc left behind by tornado in Alabama, USA. 23 persons lost their lives. Climate change is no more to be questioned. It is a reality. We are living it every single day. Mauritius is classified according to the World Risk Report 2018 as the 16th country in the world with the highest disaster risk with a world risk index of 14.27. Mauritius being a small island in the Indian Ocean is already witnessing extreme weather conditions such as flash floods, strong tropical cyclones, among others, that are severely impacting on the livelihood of our nation. Ladies and gentlemen, in 90 of government's vision to enhance the safety and security of our citizen against natural disasters, we are constantly working on new frameworks and innovation projects to review and update the national multi-hazard early warning system and embark on innovative disaster management education, training, and public awareness initiatives. It is worth highlighting that since 2016, my government has introduced the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Act to improve response and preparedness to disasters. An early warning system for storm surges with three days probabilistic and six hours deterministic capability has also been developed. Moreover, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center is already operational for the planning, organizing, and coordinating and monitoring of disaster risk reduction and management activities at all levels. Dear participants, information technology plays a fundamental role in modern disaster management mechanism, helping organization identify and prevent disaster risk in operating activities. With a mobile penetration rate of 146% and a total of 1.85 subscribers, Mauritius is working towards the implementation of the national multi-hazard early warning and emergency alert system. Discussions have been initiated with mobile phone operators to gauge the capabilities of their existing infrastructure and requirements for upgrading to accommodate disaster management functionalities in their different networks. Ladies and gentlemen, with a growing intensity and frequency of natural disasters, there's a constant need to enhance the use of technology in all forms for disaster management before. During and post disasters, Mauritius is investing considerable amount of its own resources on climate-related measures as highlighted in the budget speech 2018-2019. Several automatic weather solutions have been stepped up with sensors to capture real-time data on weather conditions around the island. Moreover, Mauritius being an island exposed to tsunamis, sensors have been installed at strategic position in the sea to monitor the water level. Mauritius is now equipped with a tsunami warning system which gives us a lead time of five to seven hours before the tsunami waves are likely to reach our coast. Government is working towards the implementation of a project of enhancing meteorological observation, weather forecasting and warning capabilities and same is expected to start in April 2019. In light of the above, a state-of-art new S-brand Doppler, solid state radar has already been acquired and installed in Mauritius to enhance the dissemination of weather information and actionable warnings such as to reach disaster-related organization and the population in a timely manner. It is a fact that land-based communication system are prone to damage during disasters given that communications provide the critical power for relief in emergency and disaster. The use of satellite phones is now considered as an integral tool for disaster management. Moreover, satellites will also be used in disasters for communication, remote sensing and mapping. Mauritius is maintaining its AM broadcasting service and is in the process of upgrading the 1,575 kilohertz transmitter as an emergency radio transmission for island-wide coverage during disasters. In time of crisis and natural disasters, amateur radio is often used as a means of emergency communications. The ICT Authority has set up a conducive licensing framework for radio amateur in Mauritius by adopting the different frequency brands, bands and recommended by the International Telecommunication Union. Ladies and gentlemen, besides the military and commercial application of drones, there's no doubt that drones play an important role to support emergency incidents. The use of drones to map disaster areas provides great advantages in cost and rapid response time when compared to traditional methods. Several local bodies, including first responders, have expressed interest to deploy drones for disaster management. There is therefore an urgent need to introduce the necessary framework to allow deployment of drone for community resilience and disaster response. Internet of Things refer to a network of physical objects embedded with sensors and software that collect data and communicate with another. As it relates to emergency management, the IOT can be used to enhance data collection from the physical environment and quickly communicate this data to different bodies involved in disaster management. With the implementation of several smart cities in Mauritius, real-time data about weather, traffic, police, and medical services will be readily available. Gathering information from various sources is vital for decision-making in crisis situations. However, some pose certain challenges in analyzing and presenting the information in a relevant and actionable manner. Now, innovative solutions, including augmented reality integrated with live drone footage, may be used to provide an immersive experience and enhance decision-making capabilities. Broadband and software solution, including mapping and visualization features, can aggregate live video feeds to provide a view of what is happening at various affected areas. Events and responses can be built into a timeline and be reviewed after the incident to determine the best course of action in the future. Dear participants, it is without doubt that the ICT plays a pivotal role in enabling timely disaster response, management and reconstruction of the disasters and in promoting disaster risk reduction and preparedness. To conclude, I wish to stress that my ministry will endeavor to provide all the necessary facilities, registrations and framework for the establishment of any emergency communication network in Mauritius. I wish you all a fruitful forum with possibilities of exchanging each country's experience and I'm sure that we shall all come up with solution. So thank you for your attention.