Your Excellency, Dr Imad Sabouni, Minister of Communications and Technology
Mr. Sami Al Basheer, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished delegates,
 
Good morning!

I am very pleased to come back to Damascus, the beautiful capital of Syria. While in Europe we are suffering the unusual heavy snow and cold weather, we enjoy our warm time under the high hospitality of our host in Syria.

First of all, let me wish you a very happy New Year!

On behalf of the ITU Secretary General, Dr Hamadoun I. Touré and the other ITU elected officials I would like to thank the Government of Syria for their kind invitation to host the Arab States’ Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) for the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2010 (WTDC-10).

In spite of the global downturn, ITU has seen over the last year that our Member States continue to recognize the essential role that ICTs play in all areas of our daily lives and how important they are for social and economic development.

In 2009, ITU held several important events.

The World Telecommunication Policy Forum took place in Portugal in April 2009 and acknowledged the far-reaching importance of ICTs. It adopted 6 opinions and the Lisbon Consensus, which addressed telecommunications policy and regulatory issues associated with technological change and convergence.

ITU TELECOM World 2009 brought together Heads of State, Heads of Governments, more than 90 Ministers, over 400 C-level executives and many ICT experts.  Many developing countries organized their national pavilions in the TELECOM Exhibition, which was more varied than we have ever had before.  We were pleased that despite the current global financial crisis, TELECOM World 09 was appreciated by the participants, many found it surprising.  ITU will continue its efforts to reform ITU TELECOM events in line with the guidelines laid down by the ITU Council Resolution 1292 (2008) and we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of ITU TELECOM in 2011.  It is to be noted that the Arab States’ countries actively participated in ITU TELECOM World 2009. They have shown a strong interest in telecommunication investment and proved themselves to be top competitors in the telecommunication world market. I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain, the ICT Ministers and industry at ITU TELECOM World 2009 and my sincere thanks to the Administration who had helped us to encourage the industry participation. My particular thanks to Dr. Sabouni for your personal participation at the “Council of Ministers” session as well as in other activities.


The ITU Council 2009, that was held in Geneva from 21 to 30 October 2009, approved the budget for 2010-2011, adopted Resolutions on various aspects, set up Working Groups to take care of  the strategic plan 2011-2014, function of the ITU structure, etc.  It was a very successful meeting.
We were also pleased with the high turnout for the ITU Global Symposium for Regulators and the Global Industry Leaders Forum which took place in Beirut in November 2009.  The GSR stimulated a lively debate on regulatory issues and spoke of the pressing need for governments to open markets to greater competition and to use incentives to stimulate investment in broadband networks.

The Connect-CIS Summit was held in Minsk, Belarus, 26-27 November 2009.  Five Heads of States, 12 Ministers, many Vice Ministers, and Industry leaders were in attendance at this very successful conference. A declaration called for an inclusive and development-oriented information society.

In November 2009, ITU actively participated in the Internet Governance Forum in Sharm El Sheikh.  For Internet governance to be effective it must be based on a frank discussion on globally applicable principles. ITU also expressed its desire to work on the naming and addressing issues, IPv6 issues, etc.

Lastly, I’d like to mention an issue that is maximizing the use of ICTs to mitigate climate change.  ITU is intensifying its action on climate change through standards for energy efficiency of ICT technologies, coordinating spectrum for climate monitoring and disaster prediction, detection and relief in addition to organizing workshops and seminars.  We participated in the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference and all preparatory meetings prior to that Conference.

Ladies and gentlemen,

ITU will hold its next Plenipotentiary Conference in Mexico in October 2010. At the request of the Mexican Government. the venue of PP-10 will be changed from Veracruz to Guadalajara. The ITU consultation on this late change is underway. We hope you will agree with the Mexican Government’s proposal in favour of Guadalajara and give your positive replies to ITU at your earliest convenience. The next WTDC will be held in Hyderabad, India in May 2010.  BDT has organized all regional preparatory meetings, concluding by this RPM meeting in Damascus. I see many good proposals and there is general consensus for the Agenda of the WTDC-10.

The Arab States’ countries form an integral part of the world. However, this region has its own characteristics and its own needs, which are not necessarily the same as in other regions.  This meeting is a great opportunity for you to make just such an assessment and a solid plan for the future of ITU, and prepare your inputs to those conferences.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the great efforts of the BDT staff under the leadership of Mr. Sami Al-Basheer, Director of the BDT, all who have worked hard to organize the regional preparatory meetings for WTDC-10, including this RPM meeting.

I wish you a very successful meeting.

Thank you.