Federal Minister Brigitte Zypries at the conference entitled "Digitising Manufacturing in the G20 - Initiatives, Best Practices and Policy Approaches"; BMWi/Maurice Weiss

Federal Minister Brigitte Zypries at the conference entitled "Digitising Manufacturing in the G20 - Initiatives, Best Practices and Policy Approaches"

© BMWi/Maurice Weiss

Today and tomorrow, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy will be hosting the conference entitled "Digitising Manufacturing in the G20 - Initiatives, Best Practices and Policy Approaches" in the Berlin Congress Center. More than 500 representatives of government, business and civil society from the G20 countries will be talking about opportunities for the future thanks to Industrie 4.0.

Economic Affairs Minister Zypries said: "Digitisation is revolutionising our economy and must be based on clear rules. Industrie 4.0 offers tremendous potential provided that we succeed in building international cooperation and reaching international standards. This can result not only in new smart products and business models, but also in new value networks across countries and companies. This conference in the context of our G20 Presidency is to help strengthen international cooperation especially as regards standardisation issues, access to test facilities and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. We advocate open markets and aim at fair globalisation on the basis of common rules."

At the conference, the G20 states will be sharing concepts and best practices regarding the digitisation of industry and various national initiatives in the field of Industrie 4.0, including Germany's Plattform Industrie 4.0. The conference focuses on standardisation, regulatory challenges and cyber security as well as the impact of digitisation on people, the world of work and society.

The conference is part of the G20 digital ministers' process. In the context of the process, the Digital Ministers will meet for the first time in Düsseldorf on 6 and 7 April 2017. You can find more information here.