South Sudan and Djibouti have signed an MoU to lay fibre optic cable from Djibouti to the South Sudan’s capital city Juba via Ethiopia.

South Sudanese officials said the agreement will ensure that region is connected to the international community and reduce the high cost of internet.

Authorities believe additional data capacity will enable the country to successfully implement its digital transformation strategy by making broadband internet connectivity more affordable.

South Sudan’s Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services said South Sudanese and Djibouti government officials would establish a technical committee to oversee the project.

South Sudan’s Minister of Information Michael Makuei Lueth said the countries have agreed on fibre optics and transmission line connectivity.

Lueth said. “As soon as preparations are completed, we will work together for resource mobilisation and reaching out to development financial institutions as part of the Horn of Africa initiative. We expect Ethiopia to support us so that we can grow as strong as Ethiopia is today.”

Djibouti’s fibre optic is not the first telecommunications infrastructure that South Sudan is connecting to. In January 2020, Liquid Intelligent Technologies (LIT) announced the installation of a 200km fibre backbone to connect the Uganda border to Juba.

According to Lueth authorities are also working with the World Bank to connect the country to another optic fibre cable from Kenya.

Media have reported that as of October 2020, 630km of fibre optic cable has been laid down at the border between South Sudan and Kenya.

The Kenyan government is responsible for laying the cable from Eldoret to the border, while the government of South Sudan will extend the network from Juba to other parts of the country.