India on Monday hosted the seventh meeting of the BRICS Working Group for Cooperation in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Pune, bringing together delegates from BRICS member countries to strengthen cooperation in emerging digital technologies and next-generation communication networks.
The in-person meetings are being held under India’s BRICS Chairship and are guided by the Chairship theme of “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” The ICT Track is being advanced under the theme “Innovate, Cooperate and Transform (ICT) for a Resilient Future.”
Inaugurating the meetings, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary Amit Agrawal welcomed delegations from participating BRICS countries and outlined the four pillars of India’s ICT Track. Representatives of the participating member countries also delivered opening remarks.
Agrawal said the inauguration marked the beginning of an important week of engagement under the BRICS ICT Track and reflected the continuation of a collaborative process that had been underway for several months.
He said that since India assumed the chairship of the BRICS ICT Track earlier this year, member countries had worked together through successive Working Group meetings, thematic webinars, discussions on concept notes and regular exchanges among experts and officials.
These engagements, he said, had enabled the participating countries to share experiences, develop a common understanding of priorities and collectively shape the agenda for the current meetings.
AI, next-generation communications among key focus areas
During the meeting, the Council of the BRICS Institute of Future Networks reviewed activities of designated national branches and received updates from its Study Groups.
The discussions covered artificial intelligence, next-generation communications, internet applications in Industry 4.0 and electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure.
The Working Group subsequently discussed priorities outlined in the Issues Note prepared by the Chairship, along with questions for discussion under each of the four pillars.
Delegates also considered responses received from member countries to a survey questionnaire and discussed concept notes submitted by participating countries.
The deliberations are aimed at strengthening cooperation among BRICS countries in emerging ICT technologies and supporting the development of resilient and sustainable digital ecosystems.
Focus on digital public infrastructure
The BRICS ICT meetings will continue on Tuesday with the Meeting of the Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure and the Meeting of the Digital BRICS Task Force.
The discussions form part of India’s efforts under its BRICS Chairship to promote cooperation, innovation and shared approaches in information and communication technologies among member countries.
