International politics is linked to its technical-social character. Also, technology is socially constructed and thereby not entirely neutral or impartial. A tech-driven geopolitical landscape has been a defining feature of contemporary world politics. The struggle for global technological supremacy seems to dominate many ongoing discussions on tech diplomacy. But for most developing countries, plagued by inequality, underdevelopment, and exclusion, what are their top concerns? This policy paper explores what countries of the Global South can do to ensure that technology helps humanity end poverty, build resilient societies, protect the planet, and achieve the SDGs by 2030. It is high time for a development-centered tech diplomacy to foster innovation through diffusion, access, inclusion, equitable distribution of benefits, national priorities, and local ownership. Its ultimate goal should be promoting genuine co-governance with the participation of all interested parties in a multi-stakeholder setting, while addressing structural limitations and power imbalances to prevent widening inequalities. Unless we take the concerns of the majority of the world's population seriously, reaping the rewards of the technological revolution will be a privilege confined to a minority, or worse still, controlled by a few hands.
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