Lima (Peru), 10th and 11th November 2022.

The seventh Ministerial Meeting on Digital Government of the Americas, held in parallel with the sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Network of Digital Government (GEALC Network), takes place at a time when the continent is consolidating its joint will to advance towards the highest level of digital transformation for equity and social and productive reactivation.

During the Ninth Summit of the Americas, held within the framework of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Los Angeles (USA) from the 8th to the 10th of June this year, the heads of states and governments approved for the first time in the continent’s history a Regional Program for Digital Transformation, where they committed to further innovative digital ecosystems, open digital government, cybersecurity and to promote “inclusive, resilient, efficient and equitable economic and social recovery, making use of digital technologies”. This process feeds into later events, the OAS General Assembly as well as this Ministerial Meeting of GEALC Network, both held in Lima (Peru), in October and November, respectively.

Similarly, during the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB reasserted in March 2022 its commitment to digital transformation already described in its document Vision 2025.

In the nineteen years of existence of GEALC Network, through biennial ministerial meetings and annual meetings in which member country authorities commit to setting the course of information and communication technologies with regional public policies, the Network has been a fundamental part of this unwavering effort by multiple actors.

This ministerial meeting is no exception. The agenda is organized around regional priority topics targeting the central points already highlighted and it reflects, as well, a focus on cross-border digital services, consolidating progress in the Americas on cross-border digital signature and interoperability as enablers of regional commitments. Within this framework, the participation of ministers becomes a key driver of political processes of digital transformation agreements at regional level.