(Ecofin Agency) - Authorities in charge of digital technology and telecommunications from the countries of the Sahel States Alliance (AES) gathered to create a common roadmap for digital and telecom projects. This meeting took place on Thursday, November 14, in Ouagadougou, during the 19th edition of Burkina Faso’s Digital Week.

The goal is to establish digital cooperation between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The involved countries aim to sign a memorandum of understanding by the end of 2024, with plans to begin activities in 2025, according to the Ministry of Digital Transition, Posts, and Electronic Communications of Burkina Faso, which shared the update on social media on November 15.

According to the 2024 "Measuring Digital Development – ICT Development Index" report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Mali has a ICT adoption score of 40.4 out of 100, while Burkina Faso scores 30.1 out of 100. The African average is 50.3. Niger was not included in this ranking.

In terms of the United Nations' 2024 Online Government Development Index (EGDI), Mali scored 0.3005 out of 1, Burkina Faso 0.2895 out of 1, and Niger 0.2116 out of 1. Mali and Burkina Faso are classified in the intermediate EGDI category, while Niger falls into the low EGDI category, according to the report. The average score in Africa is 0.4247.

On the cybersecurity front, the ITU’s 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index evaluates the global situation in this field. According to the report, Burkina Faso is ranked in Tier 3 with a score of 70.23 out of 100, while Mali (29.48) and Niger (41.86) are in Tier 4, reflecting less advanced performance.

“We’ve been working on this initiative for several months, to present our ministers with a roadmap to adopt this memorandum. It includes concrete actions in priority areas such as network interconnection, free-roaming for the population, training in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), as well as cybersecurity and regulation initiatives,” said Sidi Mohamed Galiam Ouedraogo, Director General of Electronic Communications at the Ministry of Digital Transition, Posts, and Electronic Communications of Burkina Faso.