eLAC Begins a New Stage Centered on Concrete Actions and Projects, with the Approval of the Digital Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean 2026

• Production, productivity and management

Today marked the conclusion in Santiago of the Ninth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will now be called the Ministerial Conference on the Information Society and Digital Transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean, prioritizing concrete actions.

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Delegates from the governments present at the Ninth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean approved today at ECLAC's headquarters in Santiago, Chile the Digital Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2026), which establishes the priorities for policy and action in this area at a regional level for the next two years.

The gathering - organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) - brought together more than 350 representatives from 41 countries, 23 of which were Latin American or Caribbean. The participants included key actors from the public and private sectors, civil society, the technical community and international organizations, who shared experiences and best practices regarding digital policy priorities in the region.

"A new stage begins for eLAC in which we will prioritize action and concrete projects. A new stage in which we will hasten efforts to make progress on the real and effective use of digital technologies that would enable us to break out of the development traps that afflict us: low growth capacity, stubborn inequality, and weak institutional and governance capacities," Marco Llinás, Director of ECLAC's Production, Productivity and Management Division, said during the closing ceremony of the two-day intergovernmental meeting.

At the Conference, ECLAC presented the position document Overcoming Development Traps in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Digital Age: The Transformative Potential of Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence, which analyzes how the region can tackle these development traps through digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI).

In the closing session, Claudio Araya San Martín, Subsecretary of Telecommunications at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications of Chile, pointed up the new work focus that the eLAC2026 Agenda, approved today, will have. "We want to start taking action and harness digital technologies to improve our nations' productivity and economy," he said. "These past few days have served to gather experiences and initiatives that distinct Latin American and Caribbean countries are undertaking in relation to new technologies, digital connectivity and their impact on society. This has been a critical forum for continuing to promote and strengthen joint action."

The Digital Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2026) is made up of three axes, three thematic pillars and a set of strategic goals. The aim is to foster more productive, inclusive and sustainable development in the region through digital transformation.

The first axis is centered on strengthening and promoting meaningful connectivity and digital infrastructure; the second is related to digital governance and security; and the third is focused on fostering innovation, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence for sustainable development. With regard to the thematic pillars, the first refers to digital transformation for productive development; the second is linked to digital transformation for well-being; and the third is centered on the digital transformation of the State.

In line with the new stage that eLAC is embarking upon, the delegates in attendance approved a proposal that the eLAC Conference now be called the Ministerial Conference on the Information Society and Digital Transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Follow-up Mechanism to the Digital Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2026) will be organized along four levels of coordination and cooperation: the Ministerial Conference, the Presiding Officers, the Focal Points and the Work Groups. ECLAC acts as the Technical Secretariat of the Mechanism and of the eLAC2026 Digital Agenda, providing support through the Digital Development Observatory and the new Policy Lab for the Digital Transformation, launched on the first day of the meeting in Santiago.

The Presiding Officers is now composed of Chile as Chair and Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay as Vice-Chairs. The countries also agreed that the Tenth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society and Digital Transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean will be held in Brazil in 2026.

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