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techUK joins TECH7 Summit in Paris to launch joint statement

29 May 20264 min read
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techUK joins TECH7 Summit in Paris to launch joint statement

On 28 May, techUK joined fraternal digital trade associations, Government representatives and tech companies from across the G7 for the TECH7 Summit in Paris, and to publish the TECH7 Joint Statement ahead of the G7 Digital Ministers Meeting on 29 May.

The TECH7 is an initiative begun under the UK G7 Presidency of 2021. It brings together the digital trade associations of the G7 Countries and the EU to ensure the digital sector is at the table for G7’s discussions.  

Senior representatives of each of the TECH7 trade associations attended the meeting, including: 

  • Anitec-Assinform of Italy – Massimo Dal Checco 

  • AFNUM of France – Marc Charrière 

  • Bitkom of Germany – Susanne Dehmel 

  • DIGITALEUROPE – Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl 

  • ITI of the United States – Jason Oxman 

  • JEITA of Japan - Kazushige Nobutani 

  • Numeum of France - Véronique Torner 

  • TECHNATION of Canada – Kevin d’Entremont 

  • techUK of the United Kingdom – Julian David 

The TECH7 was also attended by ministers from member countries (excluding the UK and Japan), Korea, Kenya, India, Switzerland and Brazil 

The TECH7 Summit 

The Summit launched the latest Joint Statement from the G7 members, which you can find on our website.

The Statement urges the G7 to boost co-operation in eight major areas, these are: 

  1. cybersecurity and the resilience of critical infrastructure;   

  2. data flows and governance;   

  3. the deployment of artificial intelligence in strategic sectors;   

  4. quantum technologies;  

  5. securing supply chains and digital infrastructure;   

  6. digital health;   

  7. skills and the future of work;   

  8. support for SMEs in the digital economy.   

At the Summit Roundtables, it was recognized that the world economic environment has become more volatile and the progression of globalization is now unsure. Meanwhile, digital infrastructure, cross-border data flows, and emerging technologies underpin productivity, supply chains, healthcare systems, and national security capabilities. As a result, the resilience, security and openness of the global digital ecosystem have become strategic imperatives for G7 economies.  

techUK emphasized that the G7 economies have industrial capacity, strength and innovation in abundance. However, all tech ecosystems are inherently global and interconnected and as a result, no country can address its challenges alone. G7 countries should therefore focus on creating growth, fostering innovation and building resilience by ensuring their digital ecosystems are integrated and interoperable. This will strengthen resilience, enhance competitiveness, support innovation, and maintain trust in digital systems across the G7 economies, and help the G7 democracies play a leading role in the development of advanced technologies in the future. 

 

The Statement Cooperation Areas were also discussed in panels at the Summit on topics such as ‘Scaling AI Across the Economy’, where techUK members Anne Bioulac of Salesforce and Natasha Thomas of Sage spoke on how the G7 can foster further AI adoption and fully cultivate the benefits it provides. The TECH7 Summit also included a session on the Hiroshima AI Accords and the TECH7 welcomes the 2025 G7 AI Adoption Roadmap and the SME AI Adoption Blueprint as an important shift from principles to implementation. The TECH7 also calls on G7 governments to implement these commitments with urgency, in close collaboration with industry. 

G7 Tech Ministers Meeting  

The TECH7 took place the day before government ministers from the G7 states and the EU met for the G7 digital ministers meeting on 29 May in Evian. 

Digital Ministers agreed four priorities for the work of the G7 in the digital space, with the aim of ‘leveraging the responsible use of digital technologies to create opportunities for all’. These are:

  • Promoting safe AI by promoting technical co-operation to detect AI-generated content, accelerating OECD and G7 momentum bend the Hiroshima Process on AI and strengthening awareness and responsibility for AI responsibility.   

  • Accelerating innovation and the spread of AI in the economy for the benefit of growth through the promotion of open-source AI models alongside closed models and SME uptake of AI solutions.  

  • Supporting the resilience and performance of the digital sector through ensuring common regulatory frameworks between G7 nations, ensuring AI is resilient and that any regulation ensures balance between competitiveness and sustainability. 

  • Protecting minors online through recognizing existing risks, stating principles defining a safe digital space for minors and to work with states and the tech sector to protect minors from identified risks. 

You can find the full G7 Statement here. We are glad to see many TECH7 priorities reflected in the G7 Ministerial Statement and we look forward to working with G7 governments and our colleagues in other trade associations both at the wider meeting in Paris on 15-17 June and in the future on these principles.  

If you want to find out more about techUK’s work with the TECH7 and the G7, please get in touch with sabina.ciofu@techuk.org