G20 Troika promotes inclusive growth with DPI and AI for governance

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The G20 Troika—India, Brazil, and South Africa—has unveiled a groundbreaking declaration highlighting the transformative potential of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and data governance. Against the backdrop of global economic growth stagnating at just over 3%, the leaders underscored the critical role of inclusive digital transformation in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering equitable, citizen-focused progress.

Amid global economic growth dipping to just over 3%, its lowest rate since the early 2000s, leaders from the G20 Troika—India, Brazil, and South Africa—have presented a visionary joint declaration. The focus lies on harnessing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and data for governance to drive sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.

The declaration emphasizes that accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires a robust and inclusive digital transformation. Experiences from various G20 countries demonstrate how well-designed DPI, enhanced by AI, can effectively leverage data for development. These technologies have proven capable of generating new employment opportunities and delivering enhanced outcomes in health and education. The declaration highlights that broader adoption of DPI among G20 nations holds the potential to significantly improve citizens’ lives, revitalizing their faith in democratic systems.

In this context, the leaders reaffirmed the adoption of the Global Digital Compact during the UN Summit of the Future and welcomed the Global DPI Summit held in Cairo, Egypt in 2024. They underscored that inclusive, secure, and privacy-respecting technological systems are key to ensuring equitable benefits. By enabling small and large businesses to connect and thrive, such systems can enhance livelihoods and strengthen communities.

The declaration stresses the importance of adopting technological frameworks that are open, modular, interoperable, and scalable. These principles enable the private sector across diverse industries ranging from e-commerce to education and healthcare to seamlessly integrate with digital systems. As populations grow and national priorities shift, adaptable technologies ensure continuous relevance and effectiveness.

The declaration calls for a technology-neutral approach to drive this transition. This approach aims to ensure a fair market for all participants, encouraging competition, innovation, and balanced economic growth. Central to this vision is fair data governance, which should protect data, privacy, and security while safeguarding intellectual property and sensitive information.

The leaders also highlighted the need to build trust in digital systems, emphasizing transparency, citizen rights, and fairness in governance. They stressed that foundational and advanced AI models should be trained on diverse and representative datasets to account for linguistic and cultural diversity. This inclusivity ensures that AI solutions benefit societies across the globe.

The declaration highlights a unique chance to use technology to reduce inequalities, promote sustainable development, and rebuild trust in democracy. The G20 aims to create a more inclusive and fair digital future through collaboration and ethical governance.

What is the G20 Troika system?

The G20 troika system, established at the 2011 Cannes Summit in France, serves as the guiding framework for managing the G20 process. It includes the current, previous, and upcoming G20 presidencies, which collaborate closely to prepare for the G20 Summit. Under Brazil’s presidency, there will be close coordination with India (2023 presidency) and South Africa (2025 presidency).