Tonga yesterday joined Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation as a full member country. To mark the occasion, a Tongan delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni visited the headquarters of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) in London where they were greeted by Commonwealth Secretary-General Shola Taylor.

Hon. Sovaleni and his delegation were in Paris earlier this week to sign the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime Treaty, making Tonga the 55^th Party to the convention and the first Pacific Island country to sign the convention.

In the last decade, Tonga has experienced strides in Information and Communication Technology (ICY) such as in 2013 when a landmark new submarine fibre optic cable link was commissioned at the Tonga Cable Ltd. station in Sopu.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General Shola Taylor stated his satisfaction with Tonga’s ICT commitments.

“The Kingdom of Tonga is making great strides in ICT development for its citizens,” said Mr Taylor. 

“From expanding broadband access, to strengthening cybersecurity, Tonga is committed to ensuring that they make the best use of ICTs in order to progress their socio-economic development. Indeed, Tonga is the first Pacific country to sign the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime, and I would like to commend them on this progress.”

“We are very happy to take part in the CTO’s initiatives as a Full Member Country,” said Hon. Sovaleni. 

“We look forward to being part of Commonwealth common efforts to achieve greater impact in using ICTs in economic development and social inclusion in our respective countries.”