Development cooperation project implementers promote Latvia’s visibility in African countries

From April 21 to 25, 2024, the “United Africa Summit” was held in Nairobi, Kenya (Connected Africa Summit), which was also attended by the two implementers of development cooperation projects in African countries financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – the association “Riga TechGirls” and the association “Economic Cooperation and Investments for Latvijai” ( esiLV ). Latvia was also represented at the summit by the Latvian Development Cooperation Agency, whose functions have been performed by the Central Financial Agreements Agency (CFLA) since 2022.

Both digitization and gender equality are priorities of Latvian development cooperation. These are also the most important topics of the Latvian candidacy for the UN Security Council in the campaign. Participation in the summit gave Latvia the opportunity to present itself in a positive light in both of these areas, becoming more recognizable in the countries of the African continent and among other international partners.

April 25 was dedicated at the summit to the international day “Girls in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)”. On this day, esiLV board member Ieva Jākobsone-Bellomi participated in a panel discussion on closing the gender digital divide in Africa (Closing the Gender Digital Divide in Africa), while “Riga TechGirls” board member Aiva Staņeviča addressed the audience in a panel discussion on the leadership of women and girls in the field of ICT (Women and Girls Leadership in ICT).

Participation in the summit was also approved for the esiLV development cooperation project “She transforms the world” (“She Rebuilds the World“), a graduate from Zambia, who gave the opportunity to hear directly about Latvia’s contribution and potential.

Information about “Riga TechGirls” and esiLV 2023-2024. for the development cooperation projects implemented in Africa can be found here.

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The main organizer of the summit was the ICT Authority under Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy (ICT Authority). The summit brought together African heads of state, ICT ministers, representatives of the public, non-governmental and private sectors, international, including development cooperation, partners, etc. D4D was also actively involved in the forum (Digital for Development) secretariat. D4D is an informal EU platform that Latvia joined in October 2023. By participating in the “United Africa Summit”, Latvia proved itself as a full-fledged interested partner and opened opportunities for further involvement in larger-scale development cooperation projects in the field of digitization.

Latvia’s participation in the summit was implemented in the public diplomacy program in support of the lobby campaign of Latvia’s candidacy to the UN Security Council. The aim of the campaign is to ensure Latvia’s successful election in the 2025 elections to the UN Security Council for the period from 2026 to 2027, where Latvia is running for the elected member seat for the first time. Its motto is “Together for peace and resilience”. Membership in the UN Security Council would be one of the most important instruments for the implementation and defense of Latvia’s foreign policy interests, and would also allow Latvia to further expand its international cooperation, contributing to world peace and stability.

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