Kigali, 12 May 2017
President Kagame, accompanied by visiting Heads of State and Government today attended the closing of Transform Africa 2017 at the Kigali Convention Centre today. During the Summit, several agreements were signed, including one between the Government of Rwanda and the Government of Niger, concerning collaboration in the area of ICT.
The Transform Africa leaders’ summit was attended by President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, President Ismail Guelleh of Djibouti, Zambian Vice-President Inonge Wina, Gabonese Prime Minister Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea Vicente Ehate Tomi, and Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada.
During a leadership panel yesterday, President Kagame and the visiting Heads of State and Government the need for political will and a sense of urgency in the implementation of digital integration and rollout for the transformation of the continent.
President Kagame said the delay to scale up the One Area Network was not due to lack of technology or skills but to a lack of sense of urgency.
President Kagame said:
“We are really left behind by other regions of this world. I don’t think it’s because Africans are incapable of doing things the way we should or be where others are or even go beyond. We need to invest in infrastructure but we need to invest more in our political will and sense of urgency, starting with what we already have and what is possible within our means.”
The Transform Africa Board Meeting, Chaired by President Kagame set the date for the next Transform Africa Summit to May 9-11, 2018.