TICAD 7: digital cooperation at the heart of talks between Minister Aurélie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU and Hirai TAKUYA, Japanese Minister in charge of science, technology and digitalisation
TICAD 7: digital cooperation at the heart of talks between Minister Aurélie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU and Hirai TAKUYA, Japanese Minister in charge of science, technology and digitalisation
On the sidelines of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, held from 28 to 30 August 2019 in Yokohama, the Minister of Digital Economy and Communication, Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, held a working session with her Japanese counterpart, Hirai TAKUYA, Minister of State in charge of science, technology and digitalisation.
At the start of the talks, the Minister recalled the ambition of Benin’s Head of State, Mr Patrice TALON, and his Government to use ICT as a catalyst for economic momentum and the modernisation of Benin in order to accelerate economic growth and social inclusion by 2021.
To this end, she explained the need for the reforms undertaken by the Government through the Ministry of Digital Economy and Communication to boost the performance of this sector, which is a cornerstone of the “PAG”, the Government Action Programme launched in 2016.
During the meeting, the Minister outlined Benin’s progress in the digital field, in particular: the deployment of more than 2,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable to reduce the digital divide across the country, the drafting and adoption of the Digital Code, the establishment and operationalisation of the e-visa platform, the establishment of a public key infrastructure (PKI), the national interoperability platform and the national online services portal.
Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU also took the opportunity to seek a partnership between Benin and Japan in the fields of e-commerce, digital entrepreneurship and the promotion of women’s activities, support for the establishment of e-education, bilateral exchanges on the digital economy, the strengthening of institutional, industrial and academic cooperation on priority technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, the Internet of Things, 4G/5G and their applications (particularly in mobility and transport, health and robotics), and the strengthening of links between Beninese digital stakeholders and their counterparts in Japan.
Japan’s support was also requested for the modernisation of the public administration through the rapid and innovative delivery of digital projects that could serve as a benchmark in Africa and in the West African region, thereby making Benin Japan’s West African hub for cooperation in the digital economy sector.