The UAE, represented by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, has chaired the 28th Meeting of the GCC Committee of Postal and Telecommunications Under-Secretaries. The meeting discussed a number of topics, including the unified draft law regulating the activities of private companies and institutions working in express mail and parcels.
The meeting also discussed a study to reduce the prices of interconnections between the GCC states.
In his opening speech, Majed Al Mesmar, TRA Deputy Director-General for the Telecommunication Sector, said, "This meeting is held in exceptional circumstances which necessitates constant comprehensive review of plans, projects, programmes and strategies."
He added that the telecommunication sector is playing a vital role in the battle of life. "We have lived this great transition to virtual space as a kind of adjustment to crises, so we turned our attention to communication through the available digital channels, and applied remote work and distance learning, as well as the commerce activities whose digital platforms flourished during the last months."
The meeting reviewed the conclusions of previous meetings, the circulation of the unified draft law regulating the activities of private companies and institutions working in express mail and parcels, by the Secretariat General, to the heads and postal entities in the GCC states. This move aims to obtain the approval of Member States, in preparation for the draft law's submission to the Ministerial Council.
The meeting touched upon the report submitted by the Kingdom of Bahrain regarding a study of reducing the cost of interconnection between the GCC states, highlighting the importance of this topic. It also suggested the formation of a team to prepare a study on reducing the prices of international connections between the GCC states.
The committee recommended the formation of an interim team to study the current situation in relation to the prices of international connections.