According to Gilletta Méa Dilecta Gbanhoun of Benin, this workshop will help the countries to succeed in extending their strategies to the sector level. Joachim Tankoano, Minister for the Post Office and ICT, stressed in his opening address that building an information society is a new, complex endeavour that entails in-depth changes in the organisation of government bodies and private-sector firms, as well as in the relations not only among them, but also among users.

Minister Tankoano declared that it is necessary to be prepared at all times to take full advantage of the ever-changing possibilities offered by ICT. It was in this spirit that he launched the initiative of a regional training workshop, the purpose of which is to provide experts from the participating countries with proven methodological tools for implementing their e-strategies.

According to the minister, the adoption of common methodological tools is certainly an asset for this sharing of experience, because the tools will now allow the experts to think along the same lines and speak the same language. Lastly, he expressed his gratitude to the organisers of the workshop for their efforts to harness ICT more effectively for the economic and social development of the countries concerned.