By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Côte d’Ivoire is working to
align priority digital technology and artificial intelligence projects with its
national development objectives as the government seeks to use emerging
technologies as drivers of economic and social development.
The Minister of Planning and
Development, Dr Souleymane Diarrassouba, said digital technology and artificial
intelligence are among the country’s strategic development areas and require
coordinated public action to fully realise their potential.
Diarrassouba made the
remarks following a working session on Wednesday, September 16, with Djibril
Ouattara, Minister of Digital Transition and Technological Innovation.
The discussions focused on
identifying and structuring priority digital projects, ensuring their alignment
with Côte d’Ivoire’s development objectives and mobilising the funding required
to implement them.
According to Diarrassouba,
Côte d’Ivoire’s National Development Plan sets targets for 2030 that include
raising gross domestic product per capita to US$4,500, reducing the poverty
rate to below 20 per cent and doubling the number of structured jobs.
He said digital technology
and artificial intelligence have an important role to play in achieving these
objectives, but the country must create the necessary conditions to fully
exploit their potential.
“This requires coherence in
public action, enhanced coordination and the development of interministerial
synergies,” Diarrassouba said.
He identified data
valorisation, the deployment of shared technological infrastructure and
structural interoperability between government systems as areas requiring a
coordinated national approach.
The minister said these
elements must be integrated into strategic planning and directed towards
national priorities rather than being pursued as isolated technology
initiatives.
The joint work with the
Ministry of Digital Transition and Technological Innovation is therefore
intended to establish greater coherence between digital investments and the
country’s broader development agenda, while creating a framework for mobilising
the financial resources needed to deliver priority projects.
