Modi to inaugurate 5th edition of Global Conference on Cyber Space

New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the fifth edition of the Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS), one of the worlds largest such, on November 23, an official statement said on Thursday.

The theme of the two-day conference is Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development.

"This is a historic moment for all of us to host the Fifth edition of the Global Conference of Cyberspace in India. I believe it is a recognition of India's emerging role as a massive cyber power, accelerated by the Digital India push, which has acquired international acknowledgment," said Ravi Shankar Prasad, Electronics & IT and Law & Justice Minister.

"The GCCS 2017 is certainly in accord with the Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision to transform India into a digitally empowered country. GCCS 2017 will give the world's cyber community a unique opportunity to learn from global experience and expert insight, and discover more about the technology led transformation being engineered in India," he added.

Incepted in 2011 in London, second GCCS was held in 2012 in Budapest with focus on relationship between internet rights and internet security, which was attended by 700 delegates from nearly 60 countries. The third edition of GCCS was held in 2013 in Seoul with commitment to Open and Secure Cyberspace. The fourth version GCCS 2015 was held on April 16-17, 2015 in The Hague, Netherlands which saw participation from 97 countries.

"The GCCS 2017 is going to be four times bigger than its previous edition in terms of its magnitude. The last conference held in The Netherlands saw about 1800 delegates, and I am happy to announce that we have over 10,000 delegates who will participate in person. There will also be virtual participation from over 2,800 locations across the world will be connected in an interactive mode," Prasad said.

"We have had over 40 Run-up events around the world since March 2017 to precede the main event that received an unprecedented response from the policy makers, industry, academia, civil society and think tanks. We look forward to cooperation and knowledge sharing among countries to implement and replicate successful initiatives as one of the major expected outcomes of this conference," the minister added.

The statement said representatives from 124 countries will participate in the two-day event.

"Thirty-three ministers from various nations dealing with the subject matter of cyber space (ICT or similar ministries in some countries and Foreign Ministry in others) have already confirmed. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka also is expected to come for the inaugural ceremony," it added.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will deliver the keynote address at the valedictory function.