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While in Mexico, the ITU Secretary-General held talks with President Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
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| Photo credit: ITU |
During a visit to Mexico, ITU Secretary-General
Hamadoun I. Touré signed an agreement on 23 June
2009 that confirms the country as host of the 18th
ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. It will take place in
the city of Veracruz on 4–22 October 2010. Dr Touré
said that ITU is delighted to be holding the event in
Mexico, which “is fast emerging as a key economic
hub for the region, and is renowned for both its excellent
facilities and for the warm welcome it extends
to international visitors.”
The agreement was also signed by Juan Francisco
Molinar Horcasitas, Mexico’s Secretary of State for
Communications and Transport. He stressed that
“the Mexican government believes that information
and communication technologies (ICT) have a critical
role to play in helping drive economic and social
development”. Mexico has experienced solid ICT
growth over the past few years, and it “has been a
world leader in promoting access to ICT to underserved
communities through its Digital Community
Centres,” explained Mr Molinar Horcasitas.
Dr Touré said the Plenipotentiary Conference is
“the key event at which ITU Member States decide
on the future role of our organization, and thereby
determine our ability to influence and affect the development
of ICT worldwide”. He cited the expansion
of broadband as “absolutely crucial”, because
“in the 21st century, affordable broadband access to
the Internet is becoming as vital to social and economic
development as networks like transport, water
and power”.
ITU is promoting progress in this area, through
such initiatives as the Wireless Broadband Partnership
that is mobilizing key stakeholders to build and operate
infrastructure. ITU’s Connect a School, Connect
a Community project is “a new public-private partnership
to promote broadband school connectivity
to serve both students and the communities in
which they live,” the Secretary-General explained.
Meanwhile, ITU’s Connecting Villages programme is
helping provide at least basic forms of access to the
Internet in rural areas.
Dr Touré also mentioned the ITU Academy, an
umbrella framework for its numerous learning and
development initiatives that offer training to thousands
of people in developing countries every year.
One of the partners in this initiative is Mexico’s
Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones.
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