| Place
des Nations |
Telephone |
+41
22 730 51 11 |
| CH-1211
Geneva 20 |
Telefax
Gr3: |
+41
22 733 72 56 |
| Switzerland |
Gr4: |
+41
22 730 65 00 |
| Date: |
1
September 1997 |
Time: |
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Page 1/2 |
Ref: |
Circular-letter
No. 56
SPU/KB/jb |
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| To: |
- Member States and Sector Members
of ITU
- Organizations which have the
right to attend ITU conferences and meetings as
observers
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| Contact: |
Kareem
Boussaid, Strategic Planning Unit |
For your
reply: |
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E-Mail:
boussaid@itu.int |
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Fax: +41 22
730 6675 |
Tel: +41 22
730 5900 |
| Subject: |
Second
World Telecommunication Policy Forum |
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Dear Sir/Madam,
The Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994)
decided to establish a telecommunication policy forum to discuss
strategies and policies in the changing telecommunication
environment.
At its 1997 session (18-27 June), the ITU
Council decided to convene the second World Telecommunication
Policy Forum in Geneva, from 16 to 18 March 1998, in
order to discuss and exchange views on the theme of trade in
telecommunication services, with the following agenda:
1) the general implications of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on trade in basic
telecommunication services for the ITU membership with
respect to:
• the telecommunication 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;
2) actions to assist Member States and
Sector Members in adapting to the changes in the
telecommunication 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;
3) the evolution of the international
telecommunication environment, particularly the accounting
and settlement system, having taken into account activities
being undertaken by ITU-T study groups.
Pursuant to the Council's decision, the
arrangements for the second Forum will be similar to those for
the first. In particular, the discussions will be based on a
report by the Secretary-General, which will serve as the Forum's
only working document and will incorporate the contributions of
Member States and Sector Members.
In view of the relatively short time available
to make arrangements for the Forum and of the need to give
Members as much opportunity as possible for contributing to the
preparations for this important event, I shall be circulating,
around 15 September, a preliminary version of the report drawn up
on the basis of available material (in particular, the work of
ITU-T Study Group 3 and the report of the informal Group of
Experts), on which I shall invite comments by 15 November.
At the end of November 1997, I shall circulate
a second version of the report incorporating Members' comments
and inviting further comments by 15 January 1998.
At the end of January, I shall circulate a
third version of the report together with the report of the
seventh Regulatory Colloquium on the reform of the accounting and
international accounts settlement system.
In accordance with the decision by the ITU
Council, I shall convene a balanced, informal group of experts -
who are active in preparing for the Forum in their own countries
- to assist in the successive stages of the preparatory process.
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 will conduct case studies on the impact
of the new international environment on a representative sample
of developing countries, the result of which will be made
available to the participants with other relevant reports.
As in the case of the first Policy Forum, I
plan to organize a special information session on Sunday, 15
March 1998. The purpose of this session would be to present the
results of the case studies and to provide other information to
assist Forum participants in their deliberations.
I should like to appeal to the Union's
membership as well as to all other interested parties to make
voluntary contributions towards covering the costs of the second
World Telecommunication Policy Forum, including the special
information session, and assisting the least developed countries
(LDCs) to take part in these events.
Finally, as far as possible, and in accordance
with No. 465 of the Convention (Geneva, 1992), participation in
the second World Telecommunication Policy Forum will be open to
the public, who will be able to attend the Forum without,
however, participating in it directly.
Yours
faithfully,
Pekka
TARJANNE
Secretary-General
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