A UAE Delegation headed by H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, the Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), has participated in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council Session for 2019, held currently in Geneva, Switzerland. The ITU Council Session 2019 is the first for the Member States elected at the Plenipotentiary Conference hosted in Dubai last October. The session activities will last unit 20 June 2019.
In his speech addressed to the Council. H.E. Majed Al Mesmar, TRA Deputy Director General for the Telecommunications Section, thanked the ITU for honoring the UAE by hosting the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Dubai. He said: “It was a marvelous experience, during which we worked as one family, representing the meanings of a connected world, and assured that dialogue, openness and international cooperation are the keys to a more prosperous future for the people of the world. As for me and my colleagues in the UAE delegation, those days were, and will remain a shining memory that we will always cherish and pass to our other colleagues as a success story, and share its conclusions and lessons in the context of our ongoing dialogue on development, innovation and adaptation.”
During the Session, the delegation presented a number of suggestions for developing the working mechanisms of the Plenipotentiary Conference at its future sessions. These include encouraging intensified efforts during informal regional meetings to reach consensus in most participations, following best practices in the preparation of major conferences in various ITU sectors, in particular preparatory meetings for WRC, training of participating delegations and providing them with the necessary information on the most important topics, laws and policies of the conference. The UAE Delegation believes that such measures would have a positive impact on the management of the duration of the Conference and would lead to reducing its duration to less than three weeks.
The UAE's active participation in international events in general and in the ITU in particular is part of TRA's vision to enhance the UAE's leading position in the ICT sector, and its mission to benefit from global experiences and to engage positively and effectively in shaping a global future based on sustainability, tolerance and well-being.
The ITU Council, consisted of 48 elected Member States including the United Arab Emirates, is discussing in its current session a number of topics related to the ICT sector, as it serves as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences. Its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union's activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today's dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment. The ITU Council also prepares a report on the policy and strategic planning of the ITU and responsible for ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the Union, coordinating work programmes, approving budgets and controlling finances and expenditure.
The Council also takes all steps to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of the ITU Constitution, the ITU Convention, the Administrative Regulations (International Telecommunications Regulations and Radio Regulations), and the decisions of Plenipotentiary Conferences and; where appropriate, the decisions of other conferences and meetings of the Union.
Moreover, the UAE was elected successfully for the ITU Council membership for the fourth consecutive time, for Asia and Australasia Region, after receiving 164 votes. The election took place during the Plenipotentiary Conference hosted by the UAE in Dubai from 29 October to 16 November 2018.
The UAE's fourth term as a member of the ITU Council reflects its leading position in the ICT sector globally. The UAE has a strong reputation in this field and has always been a key supporter of all sustainable development efforts around the world.