India Considers Opening First Data Embassy in the UAE

One of the key outcomes of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s brief but significant official visit to New Delhi — including his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi — was the announcement that India and the United Arab Emirates are considering establishing data embassies or digital embassies in each other’s countries.

Once implemented, this initiative would mark India’s first experience with hosting critical national data beyond its physical borders, reflecting the growing depth of strategic trust between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi.

A data embassy is not a diplomatic mission in the traditional sense. Instead, it refers to an offshore digital facility where a sovereign nation securely stores vital government and financial data to ensure continuity during cyberattacks, natural disasters, or geopolitical disruptions.

These facilities act as extensions of a country’s digital infrastructure. In situations where domestic servers become inaccessible, data embassies allow governments to continue essential operations, public services, and administrative functions without interruption.

Similar to a physical embassy or chancery building, a data embassy operates within the territory of the host nation and follows its legal framework. However, the data stored within remains inviolable and outside the host country’s jurisdiction, ensuring exclusive access and control for the home nation.

According to government officials, the agreement between India and the UAE to explore setting up data centres on each other’s soil underscores an exceptional level of mutual confidence. The data India may store in the UAE could include sensitive financial information and crucial government records.

Officials clarified that access to such data would be strictly limited to the home country and its authorised representatives, ensuring that sovereignty and security concerns are fully addressed.

“It has been agreed that both sides would explore the possibility of setting up Digital Embassies under mutually recognised sovereignty arrangements,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official statement.

Responding to questions on the proposal, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated, “It will include data that the country considers of national importance and strategic value.” He noted that while the concept is still evolving globally, a few countries have successfully implemented similar arrangements.

Estonia became the first country to establish a data embassy in 2017 after signing an agreement with Luxembourg. Monaco followed suit by opening an electronic embassy in Luxembourg in 2021.

“For US, this is a new concept,” Misri said. “We may need to put a regulatory framework in place. The UAE has expressed interest in this innovative area, and we are keen to work together to understand how such a system can be established, while carefully addressing sovereignty-related data concerns.”

In simple terms, a data embassy consists of secure servers located in another country that store and protect a nation’s digital assets. These archives are considered inviolable, meaning they cannot be searched, seized, requisitioned, or subjected to legal enforcement by the host country.

Notably, India had proposed the idea of establishing data embassies within its own territory during the Union Budget 2023–24. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is reportedly drafting a policy framework that would allow foreign governments and companies to set up digital embassies in India.

Under the proposed framework, data stored in such digital embassies would receive diplomatic-style protection, shielding it from Indian legal jurisdiction. If realised, this policy could position India as a global hub for secure digital continuity infrastructure.