New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said Tuesday that India’s rise was “deeply linked” with the rise of technology and the rapid changes in the geopolitical environment.
Speaking at the Global Technology Summit 2022 by Carnegie India, Jaishankar said under the current geopolitical environment technology is considered to be a crucial part of globalisation.
“If you look at globalisation, it is about economy, it is about technology, it is about mobility. So we have to understand the globalisation big picture today is at the heart of geopolitics,” Jaishankar said in his keynote address.
He also stressed that the Westphalian model of international relations was over and that it was important today to assess where data was going.
“In the last two years, we have woken up to the fact that where does our data reside, who processes (it), who harvests our data, what do they do with it? I think that’s a very, very key question. I think the quality of partners and sociology of partners is a very important point,” he said.
Jaishankar also stressed that when it came to technology, “trust and transparency” had become key issues.
“On the digital side, I think, we are going to hear more and more (about) the concept of trusted geographies. So, the moment you start talking about trusted geographies, the geopolitical connotation of that is very clear,” he added.
According to Jaishankar, in today’s world, technology was a strategic issue.
“Big players are going to consciously try to become technologically more capable. That is going to be key for global rebalancing,” Jaishankar added.
‘Geopolitics comes down to partners, choices’
The External Affairs Minister also stressed on the fact that the reason why India banned certain apps — without naming China — was due to “national security” interests of the country.
“Our actions regarding apps in 2020 was actually driven by the concern of where our data was going… This is no longer a matter of business and economics, it is a matter of national security. So, I would say because everything is being weaponised in this world, I have to change my approach,” he added.
Jaishankar also said this was the reason why more focus would be put on trusted partners and trusted geographies.
“Our key partners will be those who give us access, who is our collaborator and who is our market… end of the day, geopolitics does come down to partners, choices,” he underlined, adding that data would be shared with only those who would keep it secure.
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