PM Shinzo Abe at the Digital Economy session at G20 Summit, formally declared the launch of “Osaka Track” – a comprehensive framework, promoting cross-border data flow with enhanced protections.
The Osaka initiative, introduced in a speech at this year’s World Economic Forum, is one of Abe’s pet projects at the G 20, which seeks to standardize rules in the global movement of data flows with better protection in personal information, intellectual property, and cybersecurity.
Although Abe had initially hoped to make the Digital Economy session, a first graded event to highlight the launch of Osaka track, it was later downgraded to a secondary event. The decision was made to avoid excluding the countries still on the fence about the Japanese proposal, according to a senior Japanese government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters.
After the meeting, 24 countries formally signed a statement affirming the contents of the Osaka Track concept. – though India, Indonesia, and South Africa were visibly absent from the meeting.
PM Abe was seated in between President Trump on his right and Chinese President Xi Jinping on his left at a meeting on the digital economy. PM Abe underscored the importance of his “Data Free Flow with Trust” concept, a move spearheaded by Japan that calls for the creation of a set of international rules enabling the free movement of data across borders.
“Unleashing such potential for maximum utility requires international rules that are in sync with the rapid progress of digitalization,” Abe said. Most importantly rule-making on data flow and e-commerce, which are the growth engines in the digital area, is an urgent mission.
President Trump threw his support behind Abe’s plan, saying the free flow of data is an integral part of the American digital economy’s success, along with strong privacy and intellectual property protection and access to capital and innovation.
President Trump took a subtle dig at the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, by stating “the digital economy is a crucial driver of economic growth.” Trump further said, “at the same time, as we expand digital trade, we must also ensure the resilience and security of our 5G networks, which is essential to our shared safety and security.”
Views on data and privacy vary across the globe. The European Union is apprehensive over data sharing outside of the bloc due to privacy concerns, while China and Russia, who signed the Osaka Track statement, are examples of the two prominent G20 countries that have established their own data transfer regulations.
Some stakeholders say these nations’ restrictive policies could hamper multinational business operations and stifle innovation. But President Xi defended his country’s policy at G20. He said that “the effective governance should promote collecting, analyzing and applying data and all of the countries must individually manage data with order,” Xi said.
Seventy-eight countries and states have expressed their intention to participate in those negotiations. But hurdles remain if Abe hopes to reach formal agreement in the future as world leaders are more focused on trade war and dealing with Iran regime.
PM Abe said he hopes that Osaka Track will add momentum to e-commerce negotiations at the World Trade Organization. Further, PM Abe said digitally driven economies can spark innovation and encourage economic growth. But in order to do so, there needs to be a reliable set of rules for the free flow of data.
President Trump explicitly backed PM Abe over the launch of Osaka Track and in his remarks at the Digital Economy session held at International Exhibition Center, he said “The United States seeks a future of digital trade that empowers all of our people. We look forward to working with other G 20 members to advance an open, fair and market based digital economy that provides for the free flow of data and brings new prosperity to all of our nations.”
Exclusive News Report By:
Kanwal Abidi
White House Correspondent & Bureau Chief, Washington D.C.
