ADDIS ABABA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Africa needs to strengthen its voice and presence in global negotiations on issues related with data, cyber-security and artificial intelligence (AI), the African Union (AU) stressed on Friday.

The pan African bloc, AU, which noted that mobile technology has helped Africa leapfrog into the digital era particularly over the last decade, stressed that digital transformation has been the underlying theme of the meetings among African leaders under the AU umbrella.

"Countries across the region are moving steadily forward, using effectively digital technology in education, agriculture, economic development and other related fields," the AU said, while calling on further strengthening Africa's presence and investment towards digital transformation across the continent.

"Cooperation across borders, industries and sectors, and the development of effective digital policies, is essential for the future of Africa's digital transformation," the AU stressed.

The 55-member continental union made the call following the launching of the Africa Dialogue Series on digital cooperation by the United Nation's High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation on Thursday.

The High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, which is an independent, expert group tasked by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, mainly envisaged to conduct wide-ranging consultations on the opportunities and challenges of cooperation in the digital era.

According to the AU, the Africa Dialogue Series by the high-level panel will focus on discussions and identifying areas to accelerate cooperation among African countries, industries and sectors, as well as mobilizing efforts for the development of effective digital policies.

The High-Level Panel, during the coming months, will work with partners to organize a series of national and regional dialogues aimed at addressing African priorities in digital cooperation, according to the AU.

The public dialogues will be conducted by a multi-stakeholder partnership of the AU, the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the Internet Governance Forum, among others, it was noted.

The AU also indicated that issues being raised by the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation provide timely and relevant context for African leaders and stakeholders to start addressing the ways and means by which digital cooperation can be effective at the national, regional and continental levels.