“Moldova encourages foreign investment in the telecommunications sector. Only through real competition will we be able to improve the quality of the services in this sector and guarantee reasonable prices,” Prime Minister Vlad Filat said Tuesday at the opening of the Regional Development Forum for Europe and the CIS “Next Generation Networks and Broadband Communications” held in Chisinau, Info-Prim Neo reports. The three-day event was organized by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology of Moldova and the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union. The Bureau's representative Orozobek Kaiykov said the communication technologies in Moldova follow upward trends, there is a regulatory authority in the filed, the e-government program is implemented step by step, broadband Internet access points are opened, the number of broadband Internet users increases annually by 50%, being one of the highest extension rates in Europe. According to Moldova's ICT Minister Alexandru Oleinic, the broadband internet access rate in Moldova represents only 5% of the total number of users, as against the average of 20% in the EU. “But the policy pursued by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology stimulates the development of the sector, while the ICT operators are ready to implement new technologies. We are convinced that the experience and recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union will help Moldova make progress in the area,” the minister said. IT specialists from 17 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Armenia, Serbia, and Lithuania, are taking part in the forum.