In the last week of September, the German federal and state Digital Ministers came together for the very first time, and the meeting was held in the company headquarters of DE-CIX in Frankfurt am Main. All for digitalization responsible ministers in Germany ("D17") met to discuss about changes and challenges of digital transition and the resulting political tasks. Harald A. Summa, CEO of DE-CIX, welcomed the representatives of the federal states and the German federal government, and explained the background of the world’s largest Internet Exchange, located in Germany’s foremost digital metropolis.
Digital ministers of all main parties at one table
Among the guests of the meeting were the Digital Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Jan Philipp Albrecht (Bündnis 90/The Greens), the Digital Minister of Hesse, Kristina Sinemus (CDU), and their Bavarian counterpart Judith Gerlach (CSU), who together initiated the “D17” format. Other state ministers who participated in the meeting of Digital Ministers included the Minister of Economic Affairs for North Rhine-Westphalia, Andreas Pinkwart (FDP), the Berlin Senator for Economic Affairs, Ramona Pop (Bündnis 90/The Greens), the Minister of Economic Affairs for Saxony-Anhalt, Armin Willingmann (SPD), the Innovation Commissioner of Saarland, Ammar Alkassar (CDU), and the Bremen Senator for Economic Affairs, Kristina Vogt (Linke).
One focus of the event was the future digitalization of public authorities. DE-CIX CTO Dr. Thomas King rounded off the event with a presentation on the DE-CIX strategy, the company’s global expansion, and the importance of DE-CIX for digital infrastructure in Germany.