In a recent meeting of digital economy ministers held as part of a series of high-level meetings during Indonesia’s Group of 20 presidency, Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate underlined the need for people-centered enhancements in digital connectivity in the post-pandemic recovery.

The Digital Economic Ministers’ Meeting (DEMM) is the culmination of the Digital Economic Working Group’s (DEWG) efforts, consisting of representatives from G20 members and international organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

“In the last six months, the DEWG has held four meetings to discuss collective actions among G20 members on the three priority issues of the DEWG,” Johnny told a press conference after the meeting on Thursday.

“First, connectivity and post-COVID-19 recovery. Second, digital skills and digital literacy. Third, Data Free Flow with Trust and cross-border data flow.”

Data Free Flow with Trust is a principle which was endorsed by G20 leaders in 2019.

The results of the DEWG meetings are outlined in the G20 Digital Economy Minister Meeting 2022 Chairs’ Summary. The summary, Johnny said, covered the substantive agreements the G20 digital economy ministers had reached and an outline of the discussions the delegations have had in dealing with current global challenges.

According to Johnny, the G20 delegates praised the various initiatives Indonesia has launched as the host nation this year. Among them is the G20 Digital Innovation Network (DIN) held from Sept. 2 to 4, a forum that aimed at fostering connection and collaboration among the 55 start-up companies, 42 venture capital firms and other stakeholders that were invited to the event.

Johnny added that the delegates also stressed the importance of cybersecurity in business sustainability.

The Communications and Information Ministry has been under fire these past few months over various data breaches that have occurred in Indonesia.

The country saw at least five data breaches in August alone, two of which allegedly impacted state-owned firms holding the data of millions of customers. Data of customers of state-owned electricity company PLN and IndiHome, an internet service provider owned by state-owned telecommunications firm Telkom, were among the data sold on hacking forum Breached Forums.

Earlier this month, data on more than 1 billion registered Indonesian SIM cards were reportedly stolen. The Communications and Information Ministry has denied that the leak was from the ministry.