The Bahamas today welcomed high level international policy makers from the world's information and communication technology (ICT) regulatory authorities and private sector executives for the annual ITU Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-17).

The symposium is designed to stimulate in-depth peer-to-peer debate, knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices among regulators, chief regulatory officers of private companies, government policy analysts and other key ICT stakeholders.

Under the theme "Living in a World of Digital Opportunities", the three-day programme  will feature discussions on:

• Artificial intelligence, virtual reality and robots
• Collaborative regulation in a digital ecosystem
• Reliability of networks and devices for digital services
• Affordable access to ICTs for SDGs
  
  "It is unquestionable that ICTs offer immense potential to drive and enable accelerated growth and development for any country, and my Government is determined to see The Bahamas take its place as a leading adopter and proponent of ICTs in this region and indeed in the world," said Prime Minister Dr Hubert A. Minnis.  
  
  ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said, "ICTs are truly transforming people's lives around the world, offering many opportunities in various sectors such as health, education, agriculture, finance and public governance. Mobile broadband is booming and promises to reach more people, more rapidly, than any other technology in history."
  
  Senator Wilshire Bethel QC, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, said that he would follow "with great interest the discussions on collaborative regulatory approaches and the important regulatory best practices guidelines that will be adopted."
  
  "GSR-17 presents us with an opportunity to continue the dynamic global dialogue among regulators, policy-makers, industry leaders and other key ICT stakeholders, where ITU Member States as well as ITU Sector Members can engage in interactive discussions and identify best practices for the future," said Brahima Sanou, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau Director.   

Randol Dorsett, Chairman of the Bahamas Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) said, "The hosting of this conference is the latest, and most significant, milestone in several years of close participation and cooperation between the International Telecommunication Union and URCA on behalf of the Government of The Bahamas."

The GSR-17 Pre-event Programme on 11 July featured a Global Dialogue on Digital Financial Inclusion focusing on "The Security of Digital Financial Services". The highlight of the day was an interactive simulated cyber-attack against the financial sector with participants challenged to identify what course of action to take to respond to the attack. The event was an opportunity to hear from various stakeholders on the need to address cybersecurity for digital financial inclusion. It addressed technologies that protect e-transactions, looking in particular at Block Chain, Artificial Intelligence, and its impact on digital financial services. Participants also discussed whether ensuring reliability, security and trust in digital financial solutions is a collective responsibility.

A meeting of private sector chief regulatory officers was held on 12 July prior to the symposium's official opening. The meeting advanced valuable work on digital financial services and included a discussion on how the private sector can help create the enabling environment necessary for investment and innovation to create digital opportunities for all.

ITU also hosted a meeting of regulatory associations which addressed affordable access to ICTs for SDGs.

Consult the full programme of GSR-17 sessions.

List of speakers.

Background information, including speeches of the high-level participants and key global statistics on broadband, are available on the GSR-17 Newsroom

Follow the event on Twitter at: #ITUGSR

For more information, visit the GSR-17 home page or contact:

​Monica Albertini
Communications Officer
Telecommunication Development Bureau
Tel: +41 22 730 5317
Mobile: +41 79 8086065
E-mail: monica.albertini@itu.int