The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Government of Argentina have signed a Host Country Agreement to formalize arrangements for the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-17), to be held 9-20 October 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, following the invitation of the Government of Argentina.
The agreement was signed by ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao and Mr Héctor Marcelo Cima, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, on behalf of the Government of Argentina.
The theme of WTDC-17 is "ICT for Sustainable Development Goals", highlighting the important role the information and communication technologies (ICTs) play in achieving these global goals.
"This is a very important year for ITU's Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D)," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. "The World Telecommunication Development Conference 2017 will define the way forward and elaborate innovative ways to accelerate the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals."
"In Buenos Aires, the international community will gather to outline the plan for telecommunication and ICT development for the next four years," said Mr Cima. "Argentina is proud to host WTDC-17. We are pleased and honoured to welcome all participants, in the context of Argentina's new impulse to the development of telecommunications."
All WTDCs are preceded by six Regional Preparatory Meetings (RPMs). For WTDC-17, two RPMs were held in the last quarter of 2016, in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Africa; and three in the first quarter of 2017 in the Arab States, Americas and Asia-Pacific. The sixth RPM (Europe) will be held in Lithuania from 27 to 28 April 2017.
"We have reached important milestones towards WTDC-17 and we have had the pleasure to hear from ITU Members about the needs and opportunities of the different regions," said ITU-D Director, Mr Brahima Sanou. "In the next few months we will continue to foster increased engagement in the ITU Development Sector."
Expected outcomes of WTDC-17 include a declaration reinforcing the political support for the mission and strategic objectives of ITU-D; an ITU-D contribution to the ITU 2020-2023 Strategic Plan; and an ITU-D action plan comprising regional initiatives, new and revised resolutions and recommendations to support the fulfilment of ITU-D objectives, and new and revised questions to be studied by ITU-D study groups.
This year, the ITU-D sector marks its 25th anniversary. The sector was formally established in 1992 by the Additional Plenipotentiary Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, a gala dinner and series of debates are scheduled for 11 October in Buenos Aires during WTDC-17.
In the past 25 years, ITU-D has contributed immensely to the rapid growth and expansion of telecommunication/ICT networks and services around the world. Today, telecommunication/ICTs are helping to expand and improve access to government services, health care, education, agricultural services, financial and banking services, and market information, hence contributing to accelerate the attainment of the SDGs.
For more information about the event, please visit the WTDC-17 webpage.
For more information about ITU's Telecommunication Development Sector, visit the ITU-D webpage.
Follow WTDC-17 on Twitter at: #ITUWTDC.
