Thank you so much, your Excellency, Honourable Jerry William Slaa, Minister of the Ministry of Information, Communication, and Technology, Honourable Mary Prisa Mundi, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Information, Communication, and Technology, Honourable Muhammed K. Abdullah, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, and of course, I would like to greet Professor Leonard Msele, Chairman of the ICT Commission, Dr. Nkundwe Mwasaga, Director General of the ICT Commission, and my colleagues from the Diplomatic Corps, Mr. Toto, as well as my colleagues from the EU member states and all distinguished guests here.

Thank you so much for being here at this conference. It's a real honour for us to be here today at this 8th Tanzanian Annual ICT Conference, celebrating the power of artificial intelligence and robotics for socioeconomic digital transformation. It was very interesting to hear already what has happened and been discussed in the last two days—quite impressive.

We are indeed standing on the edge of a new era, where emerging technologies are profoundly redefining industries, economies, and societies, and this all comes with responsibility, and I think we are all very much aware of that. The question before us is not whether artificial intelligence will transform our world but how we will use its potential for the best of our people, especially the next generations. We need to reflect together on how we can harness the opportunities while mitigating risks and addressing challenges.

We have already seen a number of inspiring examples of artificial intelligence applications across Africa. Specifically in Tanzania, AI is increasingly used across various fields, such as diagnostic support, health prediction, environmental conservation, and skills and education development.

However, if we are to truly unlock the opportunities AI presents, we must ensure that AI and digital transformation put people at the center. I think this is what we mean when we talk about responsibility—we need to keep people at the center. As the European Union, we strongly believe in a human-centric digital transformation and ethical use of artificial intelligence, which means prioritizing approaches that empower people, respect human rights, and promote transparency and fairness. It is about ensuring that technology is used to serve communities and enhance well-being.

Within the European Union, we have had extensive discussions on this, and we have also adopted several legislative frameworks in support of these values. Notably, we have the Artificial Intelligence Act, which represents a step in the right direction by providing a framework that balances innovation with safety and trust.

We are all moving towards data-driven economies and societies. In this context, the European Union and its member states, as Team Europe, are very eager to strengthen digital partnerships with Tanzania. We share the same vision, and I commend Tanzania for placing people at the center of its digital transformation agenda. Digitalization by 2030 is a key component of the European Union's Global Gateway strategy.

We have a broad set of tools that we can use to boost investments and leverage our expertise to meet the expectations of these digital partnerships. As has been noted already, beyond funding, we have a wealth of expertise, and I am very pleased that we have so many experts from the European Union present at this conference.

This partnership is not only about providing financial support but also about sharing the knowledge and expertise we have gathered over the years in establishing our digital single market. Our digital single market encompasses a wide range of elements, from policy and regulatory frameworks to critical assets like the Earth Observation Program Copernicus, which is being utilised here. The constellation of satellites from this program generates, collects, and processes a vast array of environmental data. This data is being used in Tanzania, for example, and by the East African Community Secretariat to track goods moving through the region’s strategic corridors.

To conclude, thank you again for the opportunity to speak here at the opening of TAIC 2024. I am very pleased to be here with all our experts, and I hope that we will learn from each other's experiences and chart our digital future together. I look forward to productive discussions between all of us.