By Robert A. Emmanuel
Information Minister Melford Nicholas was among 11 regional telecommunications leaders who met recently seeking to build stronger regional capability in digital technology.
Minister Nicholas attended a two-day meeting last week in Trinidad and Tobago on ‘Digital Leadership in the Caribbean’ where nine regional ministers and two senior advisors with responsibility for digital transformation signed the ‘Port of Spain Commitment on Digital Integration’.
According to a press release by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the agreement was a “commitment to collective action in pursuit of sustainable digital transformation across the region”.
Some of the terms outlined in the agreement include consideration to create a regional government cloud leveraging existing or planned government data centres across the Caribbean region, and establishing a regional data centre to provide a more cost-effective and resilient solution for data storage and management.
Additionally, developing a Regional Computer Security Incident Response Team (C-SIRT) to coordinate collaboration among national teams, and pursuing cross-border recognition of digital IDs, addressing issues such as data protection and privacy, were among other agreed terms.
During the two-day event, ministers were also presented with a publication of the International Development Bank ‘Government Digital Transformation Guide’ classifying knowledge on transformation topics such as new digital processes and services, key roles for digital government, and cybersecurity.