From Rwanda……………………
“At this juncture I would like to express our gratitude to a number of international initiatives which have contributed to the growth and development of ICT for global development, most notably, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in Rwanda's case.”

REMARKS BY H.E. PAUL KAGAME PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA AT THE WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS) Geneva, 10 December 2003

From Ethiopia……………
“In addition, the NEPAD initiative is complemented by the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), which aims at fostering national information and communication infrastructure in support of accelerated socio-economic development across the region.”

Statement By H.E. Philippos W/Mariam, State Minister of Infrastructure, Federal Democratic Republic Ethiopia at the First Phase Summit of WSIS, 10 - 12 December 2003 Geneva, Switzerland

The Gambia………….
“The commitment to use ICT as an entry point into the information society gave rise to the African Information Society Initiative (AISI). This commitment is consistent not only with the national development blueprint of The Gambia (Vision 2020) which seeks to develop and use electronic information for development, but also the spirit embodied in the NEPAD framework for the development of the African continent.

In this respect and within the framework of the AISI, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), following a preliminary assessment of the status of ICT in The Gambia, designed and e-Government Strategy for The Gambia with a pilot project focused primarily on the Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs, the Office of The President, Health Education and local Government sectors. The pilot project will facilitate the sharing of financial and economic management data and information between these priority Government sectors. It was against this background that the ECA Committee for Development information (CODI) meeting in May 2003 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that The Gambia was designated as an AISI model for e-Government for the African Continent. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the European Union through UNECA for the support to the development of the strategy, and therefore further solicit assistance to implement the strategy.”

Address by Her Excellency Mrs. Isatou Njie-Saidy, Vice-President of the Republic of the Gambia at the General Debate of the World Summit on the Information Society, 11 December 20