The Banking Executive, Issue 155, November 2021

countries. It proposes to reframe and broaden the international policy de- bate with a view to building multilat- eral consensus, and to embark on a new path for digital and data gover- nance. Europe Global Data Infrastructure The European project GAIA-X aims at building a federated data infra- structure. The project involves repre- sentatives from business, science and politics on a European level to de- velop next generation data infrastruc- ture: a secure, federated system that meets the highest standards of digital sovereignty while promoting innova- tion. This paves the way for an open, transparent digital ecosystem, where data and services can be made avail- able, collated and shared in an envi- ronment of trust. The project identifies requirements for a data infrastructure to ensure openness, transparency and the abil- ity to connect to other various coun- tries. An open digital ecosystem is needed to enable companies and business models to compete globally. This ecosystem should allow both the digital sovereignty of cloud serv- ices users and the scalability of Euro- pean cloud providers. The federated, open data infrastruc- ture connects centralized and decen- tralized infrastructures in order to turn them into a homogeneous, user- friendly system. The resulting feder- ated form of data infrastructure strengthens the ability to both access and share data securely and confi- dently. ROADMAP FOR LEADERSHIP OF THE GLOBAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE In this section, we trace a roadmap for Arab banks and authorities to lead the development of the global data infrastructure for the global dig- ital economy platform serving the need of all sectors including finance, global trade, climate, healthcare and other vital economic sectors. This roadmap is based on the initiatives proposed by G20, OECD, and UNC- TAD. The proposed roadmap in- cludes the following steps to be undertaken by Arab banks and au- thorities to insure a leadership role in building the global data infrastruc- ture for the global digital economy platform: • Step #1. Contribution to the devel- opment of global data governance rules and norms. • Step #2. Contribution to interna- tional rules for free movement of data across borders. • Step #3. Enforcing laws and coop- eration mechanisms to store, process and transfer data globally. Cooperation procedures must be revised and enforcing mechanisms standardized. • Step #4. Establishing a legal frame- work to facilitate access to data stored in other jurisdictions. • Step #5. Negotiating new multilat- eral agreements and establishing cooperation protocols while pre- serving countries’ sovereignty. • Step #6. Developing global mech- anisms of digital cooperation. A holistic approach is fundamental to acknowledge the interdependence of stakeholders and sectors, and enable the world to move together towards better digital solutions. • Step #7. Investing in technological innovations, content production, cybersecurity measures, ethical im- plications, societal change, eco- nomic development, network management and privacy of global data infrastructures. • Step #8. Adapting digital assess- ment methodologies to overcome obstacles for efficient multilateral data governance and policy-mak- ing. Introducing common method- ology will enable even flow of data and ensure consistency of meas- ures taken in digital assessment • Step #9. Promoting interoperability on a global level to achieve secu- rity and efficiency. • Step #10. Using digital manage- ment tools that support cross-bor- der data sharing between businesses for future business transformations and pandemic re- sponses. REFERENCES NEW AMERICA, CYBERSECURITY INITIATIVE on Global Data Gover- nance, Berkley university research on global data infrastructures, Nip- pon Telegraph and Telephone Corpo- ration NTT R&D, G20 insight, G20 policies, The OECD Digital Economy Outlook report 2021, UNCTAD Re- port 2021 entitled "Cross-border data flows and development: For whom the data flow", Europe GAIA-X Proj- ect, Science Direct, ALCOR FUND WORLDWIDE, Wikipedia, Investo- pedia. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 14 ISSUE 155 NOVEMBER 2021