Dr. Pavel Vinkler, Director General, Entrepreneurship and
Digitalization, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech
Republic
Oli Bird, Co -President of CEPT
Gwi Yeop Son, Regional Director of the UN Regional
Development Office for Europe and Central Asia
Partners present,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the ITU Regional Development Forum for Europe.
Let me begin by thanking the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic for hosting us and to CEPT for their crucial role today and their ongoing cooperation in our work at the Development Bureau.
It is just a few months since the World Telecommunication Development Conference in Baku. The resulting Baku Action Plan covering the 2026- 2029 cycle, established priorities, adopted key resolutions, and set out questions that will be addressed by the ITU-D Study Groups.
It also endorsed regional initiatives, including those for Europe. As you know, these concern digital infrastructure development, digital transformation for resilience, digital inclusion and skills development, trust and confidence in the use of telecommunications and information and communication technologies, and digital innovation ecosystems.
Leveraging those regional initiatives, the discussions we begin today are about translating that global vision into concrete regional action.
This year's Regional Development Forum theme is: universal, meaningful and affordable connectivity for an inclusive and sustainable digital future, the theme of WTDC-25.
Over the past decade, Europe has made significant progress in the digital domain, with strong investments in broadband infrastructure, rapid deployment of 5G networks, increasing attention to artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies and growing sophistication in digital public services.
Europe is also playing a leading role globally in shaping digital governance and regulatory frameworks contributing actively to discussions on data governance, cybersecurity and digital markets and the responsible development of emerging technologies.
Platforms such as this Forum allow policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, and development partners to exchange experiences learn from one another and explore solutions to emerging digital challenges.
I would like to thank all stakeholders for submitting a total of over 60 input documents to highlight their priorities. I look forward to the discussions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would also like to mention a special feature in this RDF. We will have two dedicated sessions for matchmaking regional and country priorities with over 83 Billion US Dollars of Partner2Connect pledges meaning, moving from pledge to action or commitment. The matchmaking process is key to the effective implementation of BDT's work.
On that note, let me observe that Europe is not only advancing its own digital transformation. It is also playing an important role in supporting digital development globally.
I would like to thank the European Commission as well as Andorra, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and the UK for their financial support to digital development projects and to thank the many other European countries that offer expertise.
As digital technologies evolve rapidly, the importance of effective digital regulation continues to grow and Europe benefits from particularly strong and active regulatory communities, showing the way for other regions to follow.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the chairs and members of BEREC, EaPeReg and EMERG.
Let me also mention that we shall have the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR26), in Türkiye in May. I encourage you all, Member States and ITU-D Sector Members to attend and to contribute to the development of the GSR-26 Best Practice Guidelines for Digital Regulation, which will be presented in May.
We also have a number of other landmark events to look forward to. This year's global celebration of Girls in ICT Day will be co-hosted by Europe and America regions, on 23 April, featuring a live link between Tirana, Albania and Brasília, Brazil. Also coming up is the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group in Geneva this April.
We have much to talk about, to enable the realization of the Baku Action Plan for the benefit of the region.
On that note, I wish you fruitful discussions during today's Forum.
Thank you!
