Implementers of development cooperation projects promote Latvia’s visibility in African countries

Between 21 and 25 April 2024, Nairobi in Kenya hosted the Connected Africa Summit with both the implementers of development cooperation projects financed by the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in African countries – the associations Riga TechGirls and the Economic Cooperation and Investment for Latvia (#esiLV) – among the participants. Latvia was also represented at the summit by the Latvian Development Cooperation Agency, the functions of which have been performed since 2022 by the Central Finance and Contracts Agency (CFCA).

Latvia prioritises both digitalisation and gender equality in its development cooperation. Those are the most important themes for events in Latvia’s campaign for membership of the United Nations Security Council. Participation in the summit enabled Latvia to present itself in a positive light in both those areas, thereby raising its visibility in the African countries and among other international partners.

In the summit agenda, 25 April was dedicated to the International Girls in ICT Day. On this day, Ieva Jākobsone-Bellomi, Board Member of #esiLV, took part in a panel discussion on Closing the Gender Digital divide in Africa, while Aiva Staņēviča, Board Member of Riga TechGirls, addressed the audience at the panel discussion on Women and Girls Leadership in ICT.

One of the alumni of a training course under the #esiLV development cooperation project, “She rebuilds the World”, from Zambia was also taking part in the summit, which made it possible to hear directly a project participant’s account of Latvia’s contribution and potential.

Background information

The main organiser of the summit was the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Authority, a State Corporation under the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology of Kenya. The event brought together African heads of state, ministers for ICT, representatives from the public, non-governmental and private sectors, international partners, including those in development cooperation, and other stakeholders. The D4D (Digital for Development) Secretariat was also actively involved in the forum. D4D is an informal European Union platform, which Latvia became a member of in October 2023. By participating in the Connected Africa Summit, Latvia asserted itself as a fully-fledged stakeholder taking up opportunities for further involvement in larger-scale development cooperation projects in the field of digitalisation.

The participation was implemented as part of the public diplomacy programme in support of the lobby campaign of Latvia’s candidacy for the United Nations Security Council. The campaign under the motto of “Together for peace and resilience” aims at ensuring successful election of Latvia to the United Nations Security Council for the 2026–2027 term in the 2025 election, at which Latvia is running for an elected member’s seat for the first time. Membership of the UNSC will be a key instrument in pursuit and protection of Latvia’s foreign policy interests, as well as making it possible for Latvia to expand the scale of its international cooperation, thereby contributing to world peace and resilience.