South Africa, Vietnam, UAE to participate in BTS-2021 for the first time

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 12 (ANI): For the first time South Africa, Vietnam and UAE will be participating in the Bengaluru Tech Summit - 2021 (BTS-2021) which will be held from November 17-19.
Dr. CN Ashwatha Narayana, the Karnataka Minister for IT/BT and S&T addressing a press conference regarding 'Growing GIA Partnerships @ BTS 2021' on Friday told, new countries are keen on joining GIA to explore areas of collaboration.
The Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) was launched in 2017 by the Government of Karnataka as a platform to setup up technological multi-lateral relations with foreign countries.
As per the IT/BT Minister the focus is on setting up sister-city collaborations with emerging cities of Karnataka and GIA partner countries.
"For the first time, mutual participation of Karnataka and Australia through BTS and Sydney Dialogue is being arranged. As part of this, The Sydney Dialogue sessions which also will be on the same days (Nov 17-19) will be streamed on the BTS platform and likewise streaming of BTS on The Sydney Dialogue will provide an opportunity to show content from our participants. These will cover Quad space collaboration and Foreign Ministers of both countries will address on the impact of tech on democracy", Narayana explained.
'Beyond Bengaluru' will be focused to encourage setting up sister city collaborations with emerging cities of Karnataka and GIA partner countries in the event which is likely to see large participation also from the European Union and Commonwealth countries.
Minister level delegation from key GIA partner countries participating in the summit includes Stuart Ayers, New South Wales Minister, Prof. Andreas Pinkwart, North Rhine-Westphalia, Timo Harakka, Government of Finland, Nguyen Quan, Former Minister of Vietnam among others.
International technology experts who will address as keynote speakers include Martin Schroeter, CEO, Kyndryl, Prof. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairman, World Economic Forum, Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, Indian- American Physician, Priya Balasubramaniam, Vice President, Operations Apple Inc., Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, GavenStandon, Executive Partner Ecosystem, Telstra, Gil Shwed, Founder and CEO, Checkpoint among others.
Australian Consul-General for South India, Sarah Kirlew who attend virtually announced that Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison will lead Australia's delegation to the BTS-2021.
Highlighting sessions include "Deepening India - Australia ties in 'tech & innovation" by Australia, "Healthcare & Medical Technology" by Germany, "Digital Health in Finland: Developing AI and VR tools to support the growth of health technology businesses" by Finland among others, Narayana added.
GIA sessions will throw light on key issues of 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 health care technology.
He further told that virtual booths set up by Australia, Pennsylvania, the UK, Toronto Business Development Centre, NRW, and the USA will be part of the event. (ANI)