The conference under the theme of "Strengthening the Somali Internet Industry as a key economic pillar” comes a day after SomNOG concluded a four-day workshop for network engineers of public and private institutions and is expected to discuss a number of issues including promoting the establishment of Internet Exchange Point; adoption of IPV6; promotion of resources sharing; and Internet governance and regulations.

Eng Ahmed Siyad, SomNOG chair, said that this is an annual multi-stakeholder event consisting of workshops, conferences and networking for the Internet community in Somalia, providing a valuable opportunity to contribute to discussions about Internet operations, technologies, and development. In its third year in row, the event is attended by more than 150 IT professionals and is a place to share knowledge, meet other IT professionals and learn more about the ICT sector, he added.

Mr. Abdi Sheikh said NCA will support the initiatives by SomNOG to provide a platform where IT professionals can develop their competencies related to Internet technology.

"In the State of Broadband 2018 released recently, Somalia is among the least connected countries in the world. We need to collectively address this challenge to make sure Internet access is improved in Somalia as matter of priority,” he concluded.