Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made as a result of the Digital Connectivity Cluster led by the UK and South Africa.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in 2018, countries reaffirmed their commitment to free trade and adopted the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment with the ambition of enhancing cooperation across the Commonwealth – boosting intra-Commonwealth trade to beyond $2 trillion by 2030. Six members came forward to lead the five ‘clusters’ (working groups): physical, digital, regulatory, supply-side and business to business connectivity. Following the launch of the Connectivity Agenda, the United Kingdom volunteered to co-lead the digital cluster with South Africa.

The Connectivity Agenda clusters have met three times so far. Members from 18 Commonwealth countries have exchanged views and experiences on the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation, digital inclusion, barriers to e-commerce and the readiness of countries to engage in digital trade. Members have also discussed developing a set of high-level principles to underpin digital connectivity. The Commonwealth Secretariat is developing a Commonwealth FinTech Toolkit and a Commonwealth Repository of Digital Policies.