United Nations Economic Commission for Central Africa (UNECA) Annual Meeting

The Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICE’s) 35th session took place in Malabo from 23 to 27 September 2019 at the invitation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Central Africa office in Yaoundé, Cameroon with the theme being ‘’Digital Transformations and Economic Diversification in Central Africa: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities.’’

The main objective of this meeting was to review the work completed during the past year and define the work plan for the coming one. This planning exercise was to be guided by discussions on the role of the digital economy in the economic diversification strategies in Central Africa. The main objectives were to accelerate the structural transformation and create an integrated digital ecosystem.

The GSMA took an active part in the discussions, presented the draft joint report on the mobile economy in Central Africa published in partnership with ITU, and sought further inputs from national experts towards its finalization and shared insight on the challenges and opportunities related to the adoption of mobile services.

GSMA representatives initiated a conversation on taxation best practices, future collaboration with representatives of Ministries Finance and ICT from several ECCAS countries and also developed the relationships with the national authorities of Equatorial Guinea, more specifically the Vice-Minister of ICT and the Director-General of Regulatory Authority (Ortel).