Secretary for the Department of Information and Communications Technology Steven Matainaho attended the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Principles in the Pacific Immersive Study Tour and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Summit hosted in India recently.
Australia and India’s Centre for Open Societal Systems hosted this summit, where participants had the privilege to interact and engage with experts of India’s key tech hub in Bengaluru and learned how DPI can be used to address national and regional priorities.
Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology Jessica Hunter and Director and Submarine Innovation Lead at Google Shirshendu Bhattacharya also join the summit along with other regional leaders.
Speaking on the importance of secure connectivity, Ambassador Hunter said bridging the digital divide through AI adoption discussions between Papua New Guinea and Australia starts with secure, resilient cable connectivity.
“Australia is incredibly proud to be part of discussions with PNG and Google about resilience, strengthening the digital backbone that makes trusted AI adoption possible,” Ambassador Hunter said.
Director and Submarine Innovation Lead at Google Shirshendu Bhattacharya welcomed the strong and ongoing relationship with Australia and PNG, specifically in the new digital connectivity initiatives on the horizon.
“It was great to be part of the AI Summit with these close partners to talk about the future for PNG, Australia and their shared region,” Mr Bhattacharya said.
DICT Secretary acknowledged these collaborations, highlighting the grounds to collaborate.
“We have a lot of countries that have similar problems, not being able to access the most basic of services. With the common challenges, inclusion would be one of the biggest deliverables achieved,” Secretary Matainaho said.
