In a significant move towards advancing its digital footprint on the global stage, India’s Union Cabinet has approved three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with France, Trinidad and Tobago, and Papua New Guinea, focusing on digital technology collaboration. These MoUs mark India’s commitment to sharing its successful digital solutions and expertise with other nations while promoting the idea of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).
- Indo-French Digital Collaboration: The MoU with France’s Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty strengthens the existing cooperation between India and France in the field of digital technology. It builds upon the Indo-French Roadmap on Cybersecurity and Digital Technology established in 2019. Furthermore, both nations are active participants in the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence. This MoU, which is valid for three years, underscores India’s growing presence in international digital forums and its commitment to ensuring a secure and technologically advanced cyberspace.
- Sharing Digital Solutions at Population Scale: India’s collaboration with Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Digital Transformation Technology and Papua New Guinea’s Department of Information and Communications Technology focuses on sharing successful digital solutions that have been implemented at population scale. These solutions draw inspiration from India’s remarkable achievements in developing the India Stack, a set of indigenous software and protocols that underpin crucial systems like Aadhaar and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). By sharing open-source versions of these systems, India aims to help other countries build their own digital identity and payment infrastructure. These MoUs, each valid for three years, reflect India’s aspiration to lead and collaborate with countries in the Global South, promoting digital transformation and inclusive development.
India’s engagement in such digital technology partnerships aligns with its broader foreign policy objectives, emphasizing technological diplomacy and cooperation. It also underscores India’s role as a key player in the global digital arena and its commitment to fostering digital inclusion and capacity-building in partner nations.
In the age of digitalization, these agreements hold immense significance, not only for the countries involved but also for the wider international community. As technology continues to shape the global landscape, India’s efforts to share its digital expertise and collaborate with other nations contribute to a more interconnected and technologically advanced world.
