PMs of Australia, Israel to address Bengaluru tech summit scheduled from Nov 17 to 19

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett would address the inaugural session of the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS)-2021 scheduled here from November 17 to 19, a Karnataka Minister said on Friday. “One of the key features of the BTS-2021 this time is the address by the Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett and the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison on the inaugural day,” Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister for IT-BT and Skill Development and Technology, told reporters here.

“Australian Consul-General for South India Sarah Kirlew who attended an event virtually on ‘Growing GIA Partnerships at BTS-2021’ on Friday announced that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will lead Australia’s delegation to the BTS-2021,” said the Minister.

According to Narayan, the mutual participation of Karnataka and Australia through BTS-2021 and Sydney Dialogue has been arranged.

As part of it, the Sydney Dialogue sessions would also be held from November 17 to 19 and be streamed on the BTS platform and vice-versa.

He further said the events would also cover QUAD space collaboration and foreign ministers of both India and Australia would address on the impact of tech on democracy.

Speaking about the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA), an initiative launched by the Karnataka government in 2017 as a platform to set up technological multi-lateral relations with foreign countries, Narayan said it is expanding every year with more countries keen to be part of it. “The GIA is growing every year and many new countries are keen on joining the GIA to explore areas of collaboration. For the first time, South Africa, Vietnam and UAE will be participating in the Bengaluru Tech Summit-2021,” he said. He said the Ministers of various countries and technology experts from different industries would also speak during the summit. He pointed out that there would be many sessions like ‘Deepening India – Australia ties in tech & innovation’ by Australia, ‘Healthcare and Medical Technology’ by Germany, ‘Digital Health in Finland: Developing AI and VR tools to support the growth of health technology businesses’ by Finland.

Also, there would be sessions on key issues like cyber security and related research applications, digital trust in a post-pandemic world, driving next with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, developing Artificial Intelligence and Visual Reality Tools for developing healthcare technology, he said. Virtual booths set up by Australia, Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Toronto Business Development Centre would be part of the event. During the summit, ‘Beyond Bengaluru’, another initiative of the Karnataka government, would focus on ‘Sister City Collaborations’ with emerging cities of Karnataka and GIA partner-countries. Narayan lauded the GIA partner-nations for their help during the COVID-19 crisis, saying that they came wholeheartedly to support in all possible ways. “You came wholeheartedly on your own which is really appreciable. I thank you once again for your concern for our people and for the help given by you during the pandemic,” he said.