JAPAN PARTNERSHIP BEARS FRUIT The Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, the Honourable Mokweetsi Masisi, today ended a four day official working visit to Japan, which was focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fields of digital broadcasting and ICT. This week’s visit closely followed President Khama’s attendance at last month’s TICAD V Conference in Yokohama, Japan, where he was accompanied by Minister Masisi and the Minister of Trade and Industry, the Honourable Dorcus Malesu. During the Conference His Excellency held talks with the Japanese Prime Minister, the Rt. Honourable Shinzo Abe, where there was mutual commitment for enhanced cooperation between the two countries in a number of areas including the fields of broadcasting and ICT. The highlight of this week’s visit was Minister Masisi’s meeting with his counterpart at the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Honourable Yoshitaka Shindo, who was also joined by the Japanese Vice Minister and Parliamentary Secretary, the Honourable Keiichiro Tachibana. At the end of their discussions the two Ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate deeper bilateral cooperation in the field of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT). The MOU provides for the establishment of a joint task force between the two countries to facilitate Botswana’s technical transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. The signing of the MOU comes in the context of our country’s decision to adopt that ISDB-T standard for digital broadcasting that was developed in Japan but has since also been adopted by a growing number of countries in Latin America and elsewhere. The task force is now expected to convene its first meeting in Gaborone at the end of the month. The MOU further provides for Japanese assistance to Botswana through technology transfer and human asset development to Broadcasting Services. This will involve collaboration with additional Japanese institutions such as the Association of Radio Industries Businesses, NHK and other Japanese broadcasters, and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency. Such assistance will be directed to the development of DTT in Botswana as a platform for e-Government, including e-Education, Health and Disaster Management. The MOU also creates a framework for the facilitation of investment by Japanese electronics, ICT and associated industries into Botswana, including the encouragement of joint ventures. The two countries have further agreed to cooperate in the exchange of programming and programme development. In their discussions the two Ministers further confirmed Japan’s participation in the launch of Digital Broadcasting in Botswana, which is scheduled to take place at the end of this month. During their extended meeting Minister Shindo took the opportunity to demonstrate to Minister Masisi and his delegation the next generation of Japanese Super Vision broadcast technology in 4K and 8K High Definition, which has great potential for e-industry and medicine, as well as entertainment applications. Whereas currently available HD broadcasting involves pictures at just over 2 million pixels, 4K and 8K resolutions are above 8 million and 33 million pixels respectively. In their discussions the Ministers also acknowledged the good work being carried out in mineral prospecting by the Remote Sensing Centre, which was established in 2007 with Japanese support. They noted that besides serving Botswana the Centre has since widened its activities to neighbouring countries as a regional centre of excellence. Minister Masisi also this week met with senior officials at NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster, which is already assisting in the development of Educational Television in our country. NHK has now further agreed to provide a P 4 million grant to promote programming exchange and development with BTV. In addition to his Government to Government contacts while in Tokyo, Minister Masisi was also engaged in investment and trade promotion activities. In this respect during his stay he met with senior management and members of the board of a number of leading Japanese companies, including: JVC-Kenwood, Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi Kokusai, Ikegami and NEC. Additional highlights of the visit included Minister Masisi becoming the first African to be awarded with a Japanese Radio Day Recognition for his efforts to promote the development of digital broadcasting and his being hosted by the Japan-Africa Union Parliamentary League of Friendship. Members of the League are now scheduled to visit Botswana at the end of August. During his visit Minister Masisi was accompanied by Botswana’s Ambassador in Tokyo, Mr. Jacob Nkate, and senior officials.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:57:47 +0000