India and EU Discuss International Cyberspace Laws

India and the European Union stressed on the need to deepen deliberations on the applicability of international law to cyberspace and set norms of responsible behaviour of states.

During the fourth India-EU cyber dialogue in New Delhi on Tuesday, the two sides also reaffirmed their commitment to an open, free, secure, stable, peaceful and accessible cyberspace, enabling economic growth and innovation.

Led by Sanjay Kumar Verma, an Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian delegation had the representatives from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the National Security Council Secretariat, the CBI, the Department of Telecommunication, the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre and the NIA.

The EU delegation was led by Herczynski Pawel, Director for Security Policy, European External Action Service, who was accompanied by representatives from European External Action Service and officials from the EU Delegation in New Delhi.

"India reaffirmed that the existing principles of international law are, in general, applicable in cyberspace and that there was a need to continue and deepen deliberations on the applicability of International Law to cyberspace and set norms of responsible behaviour of states," a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said.

It also emphasised the significance of various regional, international and multilateral initiatives, particularly those initiatives where UN plays a key role, to continue the debate on these issues as well as in cyber capacity building.

The two sides reaffirmed that the bilateral cyber dialogue provided a strong foundation for existing and future cooperation.

Areas of discussion included domestic cyber policy landscape, cyber threats and mitigation, internet governance, mechanism on bilateral cooperation and possible cooperation at various international and regional fora.

The Indian delegation also made a presentation on the 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space to be held in New Delhi on November 23-24, 2017.

Both sides agreed to hold the next India-EU Cyber dialogue in Brussels in 2018.

The Second Japan-India Cyber Dialogue was also held here on August 17, that saw discussions on domestic cyber policy landscape, cyber threats and mitigation, mechanism on bilateral cooperation and possible cooperation at various international and regional forums.