September 2, 2022 Results of G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting

On September 1, 2022, the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting was held in Bali, Indonesia, and Mr. TSUGE Yoshifumi, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, attended the meeting. The meeting was attended by digital ministers and other high-level representatives of the G20 member countries and regions as well as invited countries and relevant international organizations, and discussed topics including policy issues in the digital field.

1. Date of the meeting

Thursday, September 1, 2022

2. Outline of the event

Digitalization has a wide-ranging and significant impact on the economy and society, and a broader range 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 economy. At the 2019 meeting, Japan, serving as host nation, advocated the concept of Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT), which was agreed at the G20 Osaka Summit that same year.
At this year’s meeting in Indonesia, the topics taken up for discussion included connectivity and Post-COVID-19 Recovery, digital skills and digital literacy, and DFFT and cross-border data flows. Mr. TSUGE attended the sessions and made the following remarks.
With geopolitical tensions among the issues giving rise to concerns regarding the development of the digital economy, it is important for the world to come together to ensure its sound development and to protect human rights, including in the online sphere.
Japan will work with other countries across the globe to create a safe, inclusive digital economy.

No Ministerial Declaration was adopted as the participants failed to agree on the discussions for the communique at the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) held prior to the ministerial meeting. A Chair's Statement is expected to be issued by the Indonesian presidency, at a later date.