South Sudan Telecommunications Postal Services minister tours Zain offices and facilities

PRESS RELEASE

November 4, 2013

(JUBA) - Zain South Sudan, the country’s leading telecom operator, was recently privileged to host the Honorable Minister of Telecommunications & Postal Services Republic of South Sudan, Hon. Rebecca Joshua Okwachi, who met with the company’s CEO, Wassim Mansour, and toured part of Zain’s state-of-the-art facilities.

The Hon. Minister visited Zain’s call center, where she had the functions of the facility explained to her, and was able to interact with the Zain team present. The Hon. Minister was also able to tour the company’s data center and view the core network, before engaging in high level discussions with Zain South Sudan’s CEO.

The Hon. Minister and Mr Mansour engaged in a wide-ranging and positive discussion, with the Hon. Minister confirming that one of her Ministry’s main priorities is the establishment of a functioning independent telecommunications regulator. The Hon. Minister acknowledged the importance of a vibrant telecom sector to the growth and development of South Sudan and committed her Ministry to looking to establish an even playing field for all telecom providers current and future.

Mr Mansour, Zain South Sudan CEO commented: “It was an enormous privilege to host the Hon. Minister at our facilities and engage in important discussions on the critical role telecommunications play in the economic and social advancement of the country. We are confident the sector is headed in the right direction given the Ministry’s vision and overall government support.”

He continued: “We had the opportunity to confirm Zain’s unyielding commitment to the development of the telecommunications network and in South Sudan to the Hon. Minister, and this extends to our corporate social responsibility activities, and our active investment in the areas of health, education and youth development of this country.”

The Hon. Minister revealed her Ministry’s close interaction with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies with respect to narrowing the digital divide and the development of telecom infrastructure in the country, and the reliance on the sector to help wherever possible with humanitarian assistance as cases arise.

In South Sudan, Zain has been actively involved in many educational, humanitarian, youth and sports oriented activities such as the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative and the partnership with the Vodafone Foundation Instant Network to extend mobile telecommunications coverage to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) refugee camp at Yida, Unity State to name a few.

On his part, Mr Mansour confirmed to the Hon. Minister Zain’s commitment to skills and knowledge transfer, and the development of local resources within South Sudan. He referenced the operator’s recently launched ‘I am’ marketing campaign, which is based on the premise of South Sudan people from all walks of life looking to be the best they can be, and the country offering them that opportunity.

ABOUT ZAIN SOUTH SUDAN

In July 2011, the Republic of South Sudan was revealed to the world. Before this momentous occasion, Zain was present and operating in South Sudan, investing heavily into network infrastructure and providing much needed voice and data services across many parts of the country. Through huge investments and constant development of the telecommunication infrastructure, Zain remains committed to offering customers in South Sudan the widest coverage across the country matched with the most dynamic products and services.

Today, Zain South Sudan is supported by over 290 third generation (3G) voice and data enabled network sites, with many more sites set to be added in the near future, noting the technology being deployed nationwide can easily be upgraded to super-fast 4G LTE. Providing high-quality voice and faster internet access across many parts of the country, reflects Zain’s commitment to spreading its wonderful world, playing a critical role in the economic and social advancement of this promising country.

Zain South Sudan is part of the Zain Group, a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 44.4 million active customers as of 30 June, 2013. With a commercial presence in 8 countries, Zain operates in: Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. In Lebanon, the Group manages ‘touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain has a 15.5% stake in ‘INWI’, through a joint venture.

For more, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit: www.zain.com^[1]

References

1. ^{^} www.zain.com (www.zain.com)