Costa Rica’s Minister of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications Paula Bogantes stressed yesterday that the government’s requirements for companies seeking to compete for 5G contracts are not intended to exclude Chinese companies.
“We have an upcoming conversation with the Chinese ambassador. It is not a problem that we close the door to China. We invite companies of Chinese origin to invest in multiple industries. This has to do specifically with telecommunications and companies need to ensure this.” “Their country of origin is a signatory to the Budapest Agreement,” Bogantes said at a press conference.
On August 31, the government published a decree in the official newspaper La Gaceta in which it establishes as a condition for participation in contracts for the development of 5G technology and above that the countries of origin of the companies have signed or are in the process of accession to the Budapest Convention, which deals with cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime.
China is not a signatory to this agreement, so companies like tech giant Huawei cannot participate in contracts for 5G equipment and software in Costa Rica.
This decision by the government of Costa Rica triggered a public complaint to the Chinese Embassy in early September.
Costa Rica has had diplomatic relations with China since 2007 and both countries have had a free trade agreement in force since 2011.
Minister Bogantes emphasized that Costa Rica’s decision aims to establish the highest cybersecurity standards to protect sensitive data, networks, institutions and companies and combat cyberattacks.
The minister stressed the importance of international cooperation in combating cyberattacks, recalling that in 2022 various Costa Rican institutions fell victim to the group called Conti, which apparently operated from Russia, a country that has also not signed the Budapest Agreement .