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Belarus calls to step up international digital cooperation
MINSK, 4 September (BelTA) – There is a need to scale up international digital cooperation in order to further the international agenda and to combat terrorism, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Dapkiunas said as he spoke at the closing of the international conference "Countering terrorism through innovative approaches and the use of new and emerging technologies" in Minsk on 4 September, BelTA has learned.
“Today we are wrapping up the international high-level conference we arranged together with the United Nations. We have had a meaningful and detailed discussion and raised a number of important issues. For example, we went to the ground zero of potential threats associated with new and emerging technology, including artificial intelligence. We delved into practical aspects of implementing the most advanced security control systems for air traffic. Participants of the conference shared the best regional and national practices to prevent terrorists from using new technology,” Andrei Dapkiunas said.
The distinctive features of this conference include a new agenda and a broad representation. It is the first time representatives of the OSCE and ASEAN member states have gathered in such a format to discuss such an issue.
“Information and communication technology has become ever present in life. This means that there is a need to step up international digital cooperation in order to further the international agenda and combat terrorism. Many participants spoke about developing a set of rules to ensure responsible conduct in the virtual space, about efforts to scale down confrontation and restore trust,” the deputy minister continued.
“The Belarusian leader highlighted it at the opening of the conference. The head of state suggested setting up a belt of digital neighborliness with the help of interstate and other agreements on information security,” Andrei Dapkiunas said. He emphasized that today’s world has no borders as far as information and telecommunication means are concerned. “Governments need help in order to build a better understanding of new and emerging technology that can be used by terrorists and those who challenge them. This assistance should come first of all from technology developers. This can be done under the umbrella of a coordinating council set up at the United Nations. The council could bring together representatives of tech companies and governments,” Andrei Dapkiunas emphasized.
In his words, the discussion over the implementation of passenger data exchange systems suggests a high demand and efficiency of these tools in combating foreign terrorists and militants. Many countries introduce their own system or adopt systems developed by other stakeholders. Belarus launched such a system in April this year.
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