New Zealand Comments on proposal for an International Digital Council
Thank you for providing the opportunity for members to comment on the proposal for the establishment of an International Digital Council.
New Zealand understands that there is a ministerial mandate (agreed by agriculture ministers at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2019 and the G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting 2019) to envision a concept of the Digital Council for further consideration, not a mandate for establishing the Council itself. Therefore this process should be viewed as a scoping exercise at this stage.
New Zealand does not see a need for an agricultural and food specific International Digital Council. We are concerned that the establishment of such a council will duplicate similar work already underway in multiple international fora. In our view digital issues are best addressed in a sectoral neutral manner and this proposal would undermine that objective.
New Zealand does not support the proposal to create a large and complex structure to support the Digital Council as outlined in the concept note, i.e. with an Executive Council, Advisory Committee Secretariat and working parties. As an alternative to the Council we would suggest that the FAO should consider getting more involved in digital discussions already under way in Geneva.
In the event that the Digital Council was to proceed, its members should be solely digital experts (e.g. data management, technology development, sales/distribution, legal, infrastructure/telecoms, software/apps) rather than government/political representatives. Any recommendations from such a council should be non-binding and the results of the work should be referred to the appropriate IO committee, which may or may not be based in the FAO, depending on the issue under discussion.
In any event New Zealand would appreciate further information on how the proposed Council would be funded, and on the full range of implications for member countries.
Don Syme