On March 4-5, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa (DIRCO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, in partnership with ORF America and Research ICT Africa hosted an in-person Cyber Policy Dialogue: Southern Africa in Pretoria. The multistakeholder meeting was held at the University of Pretoria and aimed to foster genuine and open dialogue. It brought together over 70 participants from across Southern Africa and other countries active in international cybersecurity, including representatives of government, civil society, academia, private sector, and multilateral organizations, to identify and advance practical solutions to pressing cybersecurity challenges. These included emphasizing the importance of holistic, society wide cybersecurity cooperation, effectively leveraging regional cooperation to counter shared challenges, and peer to peer training and exchange programs to enhance capacity in order to preserve the value created through digital transformation.
The meeting began with opening remarks from key leadership from DIRCO, the University of Pretoria, the Netherlands Ambassador to South Africa, and Research ICT Africa. Participants then engaged in four working sessions in a roundtable format under the Chatham House rule, with no attribution of remarks, to enhance participation and different points of view. Discussions focused on assessing the latest emerging digital threats, combating cybercrime, UN norms implementation, and practical solutions for cyber capacity building. The first day concluded with a reception hosted at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence in South Africa.
The second day’s session focused on the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) review and different G20 enabled public-private partnerships to support digital transformation and to build understanding of best practices and lessons learned.
The meeting is part of a larger Global Cyber Policy Dialogue Series organized by ORF America and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, which seeks to convene regional dialogues to address key cyber challenges, strengthen multistakeholder networks, and increase coordination of regional capacity building initiatives. The Dialogue builds on the close bilateral ties between the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, aimed at advancing cooperation across a broad spectrum of strategic areas, including digitalization and cybersecurity.
