Benin presents its artificial intelligence priorities at the 81st United Nations General Assembly

On the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Minister of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Mr Mahuna AKPLOGAN, took part in several high-level meetings in New York devoted to accelerating the development of artificial intelligence on the African continent.

Active participation in the African Union – Google ministerial round table

In particular, the Minister took part in a ministerial round table jointly organised by the African Union Commission and Google, focusing on the key issues shaping the development of artificial intelligence in Africa. Discussions covered access to computing capacity, the strengthening of data infrastructure, models for sharing compute between States, talent training and the development of African datasets for artificial intelligence, all of which are directly in line with Benin's strategic priorities in this field.

Fruitful bilateral talks

The Minister held talks with Ms Paula Ingabire, Minister of Information and Communication Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Rwanda. These discussions identified concrete avenues for cooperation on artificial intelligence infrastructure, research and skills development, as well as use cases in the agriculture, health and education sectors.

A meeting was also held with Ms Aïssata De, Acting Regional Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on support for the artificial intelligence projects initiated by Benin and the conditions for scaling them up.

A tripartite dialogue on African technological sovereignty

Finally, the Minister held discussions with Dr 'Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Ms Tatenda Mavetera, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services of the Republic of Zimbabwe. This tripartite meeting provided an opportunity to compare the three countries' respective approaches to the development of artificial intelligence in Africa: infrastructure and computing capacity, technological sovereignty, national innovations and prospects for cooperation between African States.

Through this participation, Benin reaffirms its commitment to artificial intelligence that serves the continent's development, driven by stronger cooperation between African nations and a shared vision of technological sovereignty.