WASHINGTON (CMC)— The United States says it is working closely with partners throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to promote digital-driven growth and realise the region’s tremendous potential, while promoting security, privacy and inclusion.
Under the “Growth in the Americas/America Crece” initiative, the United States Department of State said it is providing “technical expertise and targeted funding drive digital transformation in the Western Hemisphere, including through US$10 million announced in January 2020 under the ‘Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership (DCCP);”.
The State Department said “America Crece is a US initiative that catalyses private sector investment in energy and other infrastructure, including telecommunications, in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The DCCP is a whole of US government effort to promote expanded connectivity and promote an open, interoperable, reliable and secure internet,” the State Department said, adding that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently released its first-ever “Digital Strategy”, “charting an agency-wide vision for development and humanitarian assistance in the world’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
“The strategy sets a path to equip staff, empower partners and shape effective programming that supports partners to become self-reliant to lead their own development journeys,” the State Department said, noting that in the Western Hemisphere, USAID is leveraging digital tools to advance digital connectivity, promote digital skills training, and increasing access to digital financial services.
Washington said it has partnered with Taiwan and Japan to hold a virtual webinar with Latin American and Caribbean governments on digitization that focused on ways to leverage data and artificial intelligence to help governments respond to COVID-19, and that the workshop brought together over 200 participants from 25 countries.
Over the next year, the State Department said the US Trade & Development Agency will release a series of “Project Resource Guides” featuring key Latin America and Caribbean project opportunities in the Information Communications Technology sector.
Through DCCP, Washington said it is providing training and capacity building in the region, with partners like the US Telecommunications Training Institute and the Federal Communications Commission.
