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DECISION 475
(approved at the tenth Plenary Meeting)
Second World Telecommunication Policy Forum
The Council,
decides
1 to convene the second World Telecommunication Policy
Forum in Geneva, from 16-18 March 1998 in order to
discuss and exchange views on the theme of trade in
telecommunication services, with the following agenda:
a) the general implications of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) agreement on trade in basic telecommunication services for
the ITU membership with respect to:
– the telecommunications policies, regulations
and regulatory structures of ITU Member States;
– the implications of the WTO agreement for
developing countries, particularly with respect to
policies, regulations and financial strategies to promote
the development of telecommunication networks and
services, as well as on their national economy;
b) actions to assist Member States and Sector Members in
adapting to the changes in the telecommunications environment
including analysing the current situation (e.g. by case studies)
and formulating possible cooperative actions involving ITU Member
States and Sector Members to facilitate adaptation to the new
environment;
c) the evolution of the international
telecommunications environment, particularly the accounting and
settlement system, having taken into account activities being
undertaken by ITU-T Study Groups;
2 that the Forum shall draw up a report and, if
possible, opinions for consideration by ITU Members and relevant
ITU meetings;
3 that arrangements for the second WTPF shall be
similar to those of the first. In particular:
a) discussions shall be based on a report from the
Secretary-General, incorporating the contributions of ITU
Member States and Sector Members, which will serve as the
sole working document of the Forum, and shall focus on
key issues on which it would be desirable to reach
conclusions;
b) the report of the Secretary-General shall be
prepared following the process set out in Section E of
Document C97/44;
c) the Secretary-General shall convene a balanced,
informal group of experts, each of whom is active in
preparing for the Policy Forum in his/her own country, to
assist in this process;
d) to assist participants in preparing for the Forum,
a working group composed of representatives of the ITU-T
and ITU-D Sectors and the ITU Secretariat, in
collaboration with the other organizations should conduct
case studies particularly in developing countries, the
result of which should be made available to the
participants with other relevant reports. The case
studies should be conducted on the basis of agreed models
and specifications with the necessary guidelines from
ITU-T and ITU-D;
e) participation shall be open to Member States and
Sector Members and to attendance, but not direct
participation, by the public;
f) the Secretary-General shall encourage ITU Member
States and Sector Members, and other interested parties,
to make voluntary contributions to help defray the costs
of the Forum and facilitate the attendance of the LDCs.
Ref.: Documents C97/101(Rev.1) and 124.
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