Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC) and the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today during the ICANN85 meeting in Mumbai. The MoU establishes a framework for exchange and cooperation on issues related to country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), Domain Name System (DNS) operations and security, and other Internet infrastructure topics. The ICANN85 Community Forum is being held in Mumbai, India, from 7 to 12 March 2026. The signing of this MoU marks an important step for both parties in strengthening engagement within the international Internet community.
TWNIC has long been responsible for the management and allocation of the .tw and .台灣 ccTLDs as well as IP address resources, and continues to participate actively in global Internet governance, technical coordination, and community collaboration. NIXI, the National Internet Exchange of India, operates India’s Internet exchange (IX), manages the .IN and IDN ccTLDs, and provides Internet number resource services through IRINN (Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers). As such, NIXI’s role extends beyond domain name administration to include facilitating Internet exchange within India, enhancing the efficiency of Internet infrastructure, and supporting Internet resource management.
Under this cooperation framework, both parties will exchange experience on the development and management of ccTLDs based on their respective operational practices. This includes discussions on domain name policy development, registry management practices, data protection and privacy considerations, and approaches to enhancing trust and security in the domain name system through technical and governance mechanisms. As the digital economy and online services continue to expand, ccTLDs have increasingly become a key component of national Internet ecosystems, and their governance models, policy design, and technical evolution are receiving growing attention from the international community.
In the area of DNS operations and network security, both organizations will also share operational experience, including the deployment of security mechanisms such as DNSSEC, approaches to detecting and mitigating DNS abuse, and technical and policy measures to strengthen the stability and resilience of DNS infrastructure. These issues are currently important topics of discussion among registry operators and the broader Internet infrastructure community. Through experience sharing and technical dialogue, such exchanges can contribute to improving the reliability and security of the overall Internet infrastructure.
In addition, the cooperation will cover topics such as IPv6 deployment, Internet statistics, and the development of Internet infrastructure including Internet exchanges (IX) and data centers. Taiwan and India each have distinctive characteristics in terms of Internet development scale, market structure, and industry ecosystem. Sharing operational experiences and technical practices can help deepen mutual understanding of different network environments and policy contexts. For TWNIC, these exchanges primarily focus on perspectives related to Internet ecosystem development and technical governance.
The signing of this MoU aims to establish an ongoing framework for dialogue and exchange, enabling both organizations to share experience and explore future cooperation in areas such as ccTLD development, DNS operations and security, and broader Internet infrastructure issues. Engagement through international Internet community platforms will also contribute to facilitating knowledge exchange among countries in the governance and technical development of the domain name system.