Thursday 22 / May / 2025
New Delhi: The Global Technology Summit 2025, organised by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, held in New Delhi in April addressed critical global issues such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure, geopolitics, data governance, and India’s growing influence in global technology cooperation.
Centred around the theme “Sambhavna” – meaning "possibilities" in Hindi – the summit brought together over 150 experts, policymakers, and academics from around the world to explore critical issues shaping the future of technology.
In India, the country’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is making international waves, having transformed the country’s economy, bolstered productivity and supported equitable growth.
India's expertise in using technology to boost socio-economic development has been recognised worldwide with the country building a DPI that includes a digital identification layer called Aadhar; a payments system running as a Unified Payment Interface; and, a data exchange layer in its Account Aggregator, amongst other services.
These operations have been curated as foundational layers to build, iterate and innovate upon and the combination of these interventions has transformed the Indian economy, bolstered productivity and supported equitable growth.
The country’s DPI has been endorsed by multiple countries and international organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund and most recently the G20.
ANC MP Imraan Subrathie attended the technology summit and provided context on South Africa’s G20 Presidency and the digital technology priorities of the country, while highlighting the need to learn from India’s DPI and the positive impact it can play in other developing nations.
“India and South Africa have a very strong relationship, both culturally…a common colonial past of exclusion and a post-colonial past where we need to build inclusive economies and we need to get back into society.
“South Africa has been advancing the agenda of the Global South and developing countries…we have this huge mantle of responsibility of advancing the agenda and growth of countries in the Global South,” Subrathie said at a session of the summit.
He said South Africa’s G20 presidency will be used to advance the interests of developing countries.
