July 23, 2020 Results of G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting (Video Conference)

A G20 digital economy ministerial meeting was held in the form of a video conference on July 22, 2020, which Minoru Terada, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications attended. In addition to leaders of G20 member countries and regions, invited countries and related international organizations (the ITU and OECD) participated. The participants confirmed that the G20 would strengthen international cooperation for expanding the use of digital technologies and adopted a ministerial statement.

1. Time and date

8:00 pm to 10:30 pm on Wednesday, July 22, 2020 (Japan time)

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    In the form of a video conference

2. Participating countries, regions, and international organizations

G20 member countries and regions: Japan, Saudi Arabia (Presidency), Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union (EU), France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States
Countries invited: Jordan, Rwanda, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Vietnam
International organizations: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

3. Overview

Digitization has a wide-ranging and significant impact on the economy and society, and a wide variety of new policy issues are being recognized. The G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting was established in 2017 to promote policy discussions in the field of digital economics. In 2019, Japan hosted the G20 Ibaraki-Tsukuba Ministerial Meeting on Trade and Digital Economy.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) dispatched Minoru Terada, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, and he stated about the implementation of G20 AI Principles, which is based on the human-centered concept agreed at last year’s G20, which Japan chaired. He also stated the promotion of the Data Free Flow with Trust and the importance of Internet connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of this meeting, the Ministerial Statement was adopted.

4. Key points of ministerial statement

1. Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence

The G20 countries reaffirm their commitment to promoting a human-centered approach to AI and support the G20 AI Principles. The G20 countries share the AI strategies and policies of each country, including research and development, human resource development, and innovation policies, as a collection of policies for promoting the G20 AI Principles.

2. Data Free Flow with Trust and Cross-border Data Flows

The G20 countries reaffirm the importance of reliable and free data distribution. The cross-border flow of data, information, ideas, and knowledge generates higher productivity, greater innovation, and improved sustainable development. At the same time, the G20 countries recognize that the free flow of data raises certain challenges, such as the protection of privacy and personal data. The G20 countries recognize the importance of sharing good practices regarding the data policy of each country regarding data interoperability and the e-commerce efforts of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to promote free data distribution.

3. Smart Cities

The G20 countries recognize that smart mobility is one of the elements of a holistic approach to smart cities and communities, serving as a vital engine of innovation and investment and that smart mobility data and technology solutions can address some of the challenges of smart cities and communities, potentially reducing inequality of access to cities’ services in an environmentally friendly way. The G20 countries welcome the establishment of smart mobility practices by the Presidency, which provides good practices and guidelines to promote the spread of smart mobility.

4. Measurement of the Digital Economy

The G20 countries welcome the G20 roadmap toward a common framework for measuring the Digital Economy to bridge gaps in statistical measurement capacities across countries (especially in developing countries) and to increase statistical measurement capacities and comparability of indicators across countries.

5. Security in the Digital Economy

In the context of rapidly expanding digitalization and the spread of advanced technologies, enhancing security in the digital economy is increasingly important. The G20 countries welcome the development of the G20 Examples of Practices Related to Security in the Digital Economy. Furthermore, the G20 countries agree to continue discussions among multi-stakeholders, including industry, academia, government, and civil society.

(Attachment) G20 Digital Economy Ministers Meeting-Ministerial Declaration PDF

Contact

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