Center’s Delegation visited the Republic of the Congo

From December 22 to 25, 2024, the director of the Center for African Studies, Andrey Maslov, Deputy Coordinator of the E-Governance Knowledge-Sharing Program, Phillip Grinin, and UNECA’s research consultant, Ophelia Amo, visited the city of Brazzaville at the invitation of Leon Juste Ibombo, Honorable Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and the Digital Economy of the Republic of Congo. 

During the three-day visit, the delegation toured the construction site of the African Center for Research in Artificial Intelligence (CARIA) that aims to become a continental leader in the field of AI. 

Dr. Eric Armel Ndoumba, coordinator of the CARIA, guided the tour and stressed its interest in partnership with Russian digital companies.

They also visited the campus of the Denis Sassou Nguesso University (UDSN) that currently houses the CARIA office.

Mr. Ndoumba elaborated on the Center’s educational programs on training and professional development of civil servants, supported by the World Bank, Smart Africa, and Cisco.

During the meeting with the Honorable Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and the Digital Economy of the Republic of the Congo, Leon Juste Ibombo, the delegation discussed the prospects of CARIA’s and the Ministry’s participation in the E-Governance Knowledge-Sharing Program, supported by the Russian Government.

The Minister expressed his hope for an agreement between the HSE Center for African Studies and the Congolese Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and the Digital Economy, which is to facilitate activities within the Program and Russian support to CARIA, promising to become a center of innovation in the field of AI in the Central African region. 

The Congolese party mentioned that it would be glad to strengthen partnerships with Russian companies and digital solutions suppliers, as well as start working together for the benefits of digital services. 

Francis Mangouani Seck, National Coordinator of the Digital Transformation Acceleration Project of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy of the Republic of the Congo, – in December 2023 took part in the Winter E-Governance Knowledge Sharing Week for African officials held in Moscow. He also elaborated on African digital transformation during the “Knowledge Sharing: Capacity Building in E-Governance” session, held within the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum (Sochi, November 9, 2024).

Remarkably, the meeting was organized with the support of UNECA. It has been in tight cooperation with HSE University since the Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) was signed in October, 2024.