On Friday, June 14, 2024, Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, hosted the 4th Meeting of the Ministers of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)/Digital Economy and those of Finance and/or Planning from ECOWAS Member States involved in the Amilcar Cabral submarine telecoms cable development project. This ministerial meeting followed an Experts’ meeting held on June 12 and 13, 2024. The gathering provided an opportunity to assess progress in mobilizing financial resources and establishing Special Purpose Companies (SPCs) for project implementation.
The Amilcar Cabral submarine telecoms cable development project involves six ECOWAS countries: Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Its aim is to establish a fibre-optic submarine cable link that will provide redundant international connectivity for these countries which currently have only one landing station. Additionally, it seeks to increase the international bandwidth available to Internet users in these nations. The project aims to improve the quality, reliability, and accessibility of international telecommunications services while bringing socio-economic benefits to the target countries.
The fourth ministerial meeting was officially launched by H.E. Mr. Jose Carlos Esteves, Guinea-Bissau’s Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Digital Economy, alongside Mr. Sédiko Douka, ECOWAS Commissioner responsible for Infrastructure, Energy and Transport. Also present were Ministers in charge of ICT/Digital Economy as well as Finance and/or Planning from Member States; experts from Member States; representatives from the ECOWAS Commission; and technical and financial partners including the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development and the World Bank.
During the meeting, Ministers adopted the principle of starting the project with two countries that have already mobilized necessary resources while finding a formula or framework for reimbursement by the other four countries under an agreement prepared by ECOWAS. Deadlines were set for creating SPCs in each country as well as completing a detailed implementation study by Guinea and The Gambia. The next ministerial meeting will be held in Liberia in October 2024 to review decisions taken.
In closing remarks, Ministers thanked the Government and People of Guinea-Bissau for their warm welcome, hospitality, and all facilities offered to ensure the success of this Ministerial Steering Committee meeting.
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