Dear friend and President Mamady Doumbouya, I want to begin by thanking you for hosting us in Conakry, and for the generous welcome and hospitality.

It is good to be back.

More than a decade ago, the Transform Africa Summit was launched in Kigali.

Back then, a digital revolution was unfolding globally.

The opportunities ahead of us were clear: to invest in broadband, and use connectivity as a springboard to develop more competitively.

This culminated in the establishment of the Smart Africa Alliance.

Thanks to the leadership of Lacina Koné, this partnership continues to grow, with a total membership of 42 countries.

The commitments we made at the beginning of this journey still stand, and with the support of our partners, we are making steady progress.

The only difference, is that today we must contend with a more complex and intertwined world, where the evolution of cutting-edge technology, is happening at a much faster pace.

Artificial intelligence, the theme of this year’s conversation, is a case in point.

For Africa, success will not only depend on how quickly we deploy this new tool, but also on which problems we choose to apply it to.

Those tailored to our context and development needs, will bring the maximum gains to our human capital.

For Rwanda alone, artificial intelligence is expected to contribute 5% to our GDP, bringing innovation and expertise to healthcare, education, and agriculture, among other sectors.

We have also laid the groundwork with the development of a national AI policy to guide our ambitions.

Africa is blessed to have many young and tech-savvy entrepreneurs, who want to add value to these important areas of our economies.

The investment deficit in digital infrastructure, skills, and regulatory frameworks, is what slows us down.

Closing these structural gaps requires close collaboration between the public and private sector.

Using our resources effectively, is even more critical.

I commend Smart Africa for spearheading the creation of the Africa AI Council and structuring the AI Fund, both important foundations to advance our continent’s priorities.

Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding artificial intelligence, especially regarding the future of work, privacy and safety.

Some of it is completely unjustified, and some of it is just fear of the unknown.

Regardless of the sentiment, this new reality is here to stay with us, and we must learn how to adapt and live with it.

This is not the first, nor the last wave of technological progress, that Africa and the world will witness.

We continue to be reminded that science and technology, are powerful engines of creativity and performance, that are not here to replace anyone.

Almost always, humanity has been better for it.

Let’s make the most of these times.

Je vous remercie.