Quad nations focus on digital public infrastructure; reaffirm principles of inclusiveness, interoperability

The Quad nations highlighted the critical role of digital public infrastructure (DPI) in creating a secure, reliable, and interoperable digital ecosystem.

According to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, they reaffirmed the principles of inclusiveness; interoperability; modularity and extensibility; scalability; security and privacy; collaboration; governance for public benefit, trust and transparency; grievance redressal; sustainability; human rights; intellectual property protection; and sustainable development for the development and implementation of DPI.

The Quad nations also recognised the potential of digital technologies in shaping the future of societies across the world and providing opportunities to accelerate the attainment of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.

“Harnessing the potential of digitalisation, we also underline the importance of promoting an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, secure, trusted and secure digital future to advance our shared prosperity and sustainable development,” the release said.

The release further states that DPI is an evolving concept, described as a set of shared digital systems that are secure, reliable and interoperable; built and used by the public and private sector to provide equitable access and improve public service delivery at scale; governed by applicable legal frameworks and enabling rules that provide equal opportunities and fair competition to foster growth, inclusion, innovation, trust and competition, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Both safeguards for fundamental freedoms and strong cybersecurity measures are essential for DPI to respect human rights and uphold our democratic principles. Governments implementing DPI must make concerted efforts to eliminate all digital divides.

The Quad countries expressed their affirmation of adhering to the principles of inclusivity, including eliminating or reducing economic, technical or social barriers to enable inclusion, empowerment of end-users, last-mile access and avoiding unfair algorithmic bias; interoperability by using and building on open standards and specifications with a technology-neutral approach, taking into account appropriate security measures wherever possible and taking into account legal considerations and technical constraints.

Modularity and extensibility refer to a building block or modular architecture that can accommodate changes/modifications without unnecessary disruptions, the release said.

Scalability using flexible design to easily accommodate any unexpected increases in demand and/or meet expansion requirements without replacing existing systems.

It said an approach to promote security and privacy will be adopted that incorporates key privacy-enhancing technologies and security features within the core design to ensure individual privacy, data security and resiliency based on standards that provide an appropriate level of security.

Collaborate by encouraging the participation of community actors at various stages of planning, design, construction and operation, in order to facilitate and promote a culture of openness and collaboration.

Govern for public benefit, trust and transparency by maximising public benefit, trust and transparency while respecting applicable frameworks. This means that laws, regulation, policies and capacities should seek to ensure that these systems are secure, reliable and transparently governed, and also promote competition and inclusion, and adhere to principles of data protection and privacy, the MEA release said.

Grievance redressal by defining accessible and transparent mechanisms for grievance redressal, i.e., user touchpoints, processes, responsible entities, with a strong focus on actions for resolution.

Ensuring sustainability through adequate funding and technical support and enhancements to facilitate uninterrupted operations and seamless user-centric service delivery.

Protecting human rights by adopting a human rights-respecting approach at every stage of planning, design, construction and operation.

Intellectual Property Protection – Providing adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights for right holders of technologies and other materials used, based on the existing legal framework.

To strive to develop and implement these systems for sustainable development, which will contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Notably, President Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday (local time).

The sixth edition of the Quad Leaders Summit is a ‘farewell’ summit for both US President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before they step down from their respective offices.

The Quad is a diplomatic partnership between four countries—Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. US President Joe Biden is the host of the fourth individual and sixth overall Quad Leaders’ Summit in Delaware.