Chad is intensifying its efforts in regional digital collaboration as N’Djamena hosts a strategic subregional workshop focused on fibre-optic infrastructure mapping and the advancement of digital financial services.
The event took place from 15-18 December and was organized by the Authority for the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP Chad) in partnership with the Authority of Telecommunications Regulators of Central Africa (ARTAC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The workshop was officially inaugurated on 16 December by the Minister of Telecommunications, Digital Economy and Digitalisation of the Administration, Dr. Boukar Michel. The opening ceremony was attended by regulatory authorities, policymakers, technical partners, and telecommunications operators from neighbouring countries including Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Chad itself. In his speech, the Minister emphasized that addressing challenges related to connectivity, cybersecurity, and digital trust requires regional cooperation, highlighting that no single nation can tackle these issues alone.
ARCEP Chad’s Director General, Haliki Choua Mahamat, highlighted the alignment of the workshop with Chad’s national digital transformation agenda, focusing on modernizing public administration and promoting inclusive development. He underscored the strategic importance of fiber-optic infrastructure as the backbone for digital sovereignty, economic growth, and territorial integration. Infrastructure mapping, he explained, is essential for informed decision-making, ensuring efficient public and private investments, avoiding unnecessary duplication, and enhancing overall public sector effectiveness. ARTAC’s Executive Chairman, Christian Katende Mukinay, reaffirmed the organization’s role as a key coordinating platform for Central African regulators since 2004, advocating for stronger regional interconnection, experience-sharing, capacity building, and collective action, emphasizing that sustainable progress depends on cross-border cooperation. Meanwhile, ITU representative Serge Valéry Zongo highlighted the workshop’s strategic relevance, focusing on issues of digital security, sovereignty, and the region’s digital future, while reaffirming the ITU’s commitment to supporting member states with technical and regulatory assistance.
A key component of the workshop will be a meeting of experts from member countries to evaluate progress and discuss methods for implementing free roaming across the sub-region. The goal is to harmonize approaches, tackle operational challenges, reduce costs for users, and promote greater digital integration within Central Africa. Through these initiatives, ARCEP Chad, ARTAC, and ITU reaffirm their shared vision of building an interconnected, sovereign, inclusive, and competitive digital ecosystem in Central Africa — one that is driven by regional cooperation and sustainable development.
