Last week two major engagements gave fillip to India's emerging strategic cyber diplomacy – (1) the first ministerial meeting of India-European Union Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Brussels, Belgium on 16 May 2023 jointly co-chaired by three union ministers from the Indian side and (2) the third in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, Japan on 20 May where Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated along with his counterparts in Japan and Australia and the US President.
Both these engagements had a major component of dealing with global technology management and emerging issues and devising a roadmap for furthering strategic technology cooperation. They also built on the groundwork that was already undertaken in some identified areas by respective working groups.
Technology and its proliferated usage across almost every sector have remained skewed and the global digital divide remain to be addressed more promptly. Its emergence as a disruptor and force multiplier for enhancing espionage, cyber attacks on critical infrastructures, and pursuing hegemonic interests has been a growing concern for many nations.
Further, technology has also become a major strategic differentiator in global geopolitics and the most recent US vs China spat and resulting actions is a glaring example of this. Clearly, the absence of geography, the asymmetric nature, and the lesser understood facets of technology deployment have resulted in it gaining grounds in diplomatic engagements.