Gayani Hurulle (Senior Research Manager, LIRNEasia) was invited to conduct a session on the current state and challenges associated with cross-border data sharing at a regional capacity-building workshop on ‘Cross-Border Data Sharing for Digital Public Service Innovation’. This workshop, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Republic of Korea, was held on 18 December 2025 in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
The workshop, whose participants included representatives of governments in Southeast and Central Asia, the private sector, and international experts, aimed to advance dialogue on secure, efficient, and mutually beneficial cross-border data sharing to strengthen digital public services in the Asia-Pacific region. The workshop highlighted ongoing efforts under ESCAP’s Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (APIS) initiative, including the pilot project ‘Advancing the Cross-Border Data Sharing Platform in Pilot Countries with a Focus on Digital Public Service’, implemented in collaboration with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The workshop brought together representatives from governments in Southeast and Central Asia, the private sector, and international experts.
Gayani’s presentation focused on the need to balance operational considerations that encourage greater cross-border data sharing, including cost and efficiency factors, with concerns related to sovereignty, privacy, cybersecurity, and competition, which often underpin arguments for restricting data flows. Drawing on LIRNEasia’s research on the topic in South Asia, she highlighted that the governance approaches for cross-border data flows can differ based on factors such as the category of data (for example, personal versus non-personal), sectoral sensitivities, the nature of the entities involved (public versus private), and the purpose of the transfer.
Gayani’s session explored the current state and challenges associated with cross-border data sharing.
Gayani’s presentation is available below for reference.
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